The Anime Games: An Urban Action Variety Fanfic
by SSJ2 PikaFlash
Summary: Utilizing a unique concept combining 'Reality show' with 'Variety' using a fixed group of Characters (with the occasional guests), eight Anime characters must play games to either win prizes or avoid humiliating punishments. Based on a popular Korean Urban Action Variety show. (Episode 02: Disarming the Bomb at the Big Sight)
1. Prologue

**[2000 – PikaFlash's World Max]**

Ash Ketchum, Misty and Brock were on stage as they celebrated with the audience on the finale of the first collection of fanfiction written by PikaFlash.

**[2001 – Tai Live]**

Taichi Yagami greeted his cheering audience.

**[2002 – The Glass House]**

Ash, Tai and Sakura Kinomoto were staring at a TV.

**[2003 – The Anime House]**

Max Mizuhara, Kero-Beros, Misty, Pikachu, Agumon, Brass, Metabee, Eriol Hiirazigawa, Van Flyheight, TK Takaishi and Kari Yagami were waiting for a bus at a bus stop.

**[2005 – Ketchum's Eleven & the Maito Gai Fanfiction Series]**

Ash and Sakura were sitting with Tai as they discuss plans to rob Seto Kaiba's Game Corners.

Meanwhile, Might Guy was hosting a game show while Rock Lee, Neji Hyuga and Tenten were the contestants.

**[2006 – The Hokage Files & The Naruto News Show]**

The Hokage Naruto and his wife Hinata were in the Hokage's office.

Meanwhile, Shikamaru and Naruto were sitting at a news desk.

**[2007 – Stinking Shurikens]**

Undercover ANBU operatives Sasuke and Neji were eating Ramen at a Ramen shop.

**[2010 – Konata Izumi, Japanese President & Other Stuffs]**

Japanese President Konata Izumi sat in her chair with Vice-President Kagami Hiragi landing a facepalm.

**[2013 - a new fanfic that brings together a group of Anime Characters, both old and new in a unique format blending Reality TV with Variety, known as **_**Urban Action Variety.**_**]**

* * *

A black car arrived at the Mahora Academy's Library Island as it stopped near the entrance. A brunette man wearing a tuxedo exited the vehicle.

**[Taichi 'Tai' Yagami – Digimon, Age: 24]**

"So, this is where our new offices will be relocated to. I guess we'd better this shindig over and done with."

Tai suddenly looked around the entrance. "Now that I think about it, where should I go?"

A man wearing a green vest with the words 'Producer' on his back walked up to the brunette man with a card. Tai read the card. "I'm supposed to go to the rooftop garden at the top of the library. Hopefully, I won't get lost inside..."

Tai entered the Mahora Library.

* * *

After Tai entered the Mahora Library building, a Black SUV arrived at the entrance and three people exited the vehicle; two men wearing tuxedos, with one wearing a red cap, and a dark-blue haired woman wearing a dark blue dress.

"About time we arrived here," said the man wearing the red cap.

"So, what are we suppose to do now?" asked the other man.

The woman read the envelope she received from the producer. "According to this, we need to go to the rooftop garden and wait for everyone there."

"Well, what are we waiting for?" said the red-cap man.

**[Ash 'Satoshi' Ketchum – Pokémon, Age: 25]**

**[Li Syaoran - Card Captor Sakura/Tsubasa: reservoir Chronicles, Age: 25]**

**[Hinata Hyuga – Naruto/Naruto Shippuden, Age: 24]**

The trio entered the library.

* * *

At the rooftop garden, Tai managed to arrive first at the designated waiting location. It wasn't long before Ash, Hinata and Syaoran arrived.

Tai looked at the newcomers. "About time you guys arrived. I've been waiting here for hours," boasted Tai.

"If you were really waiting that long, then I'm Goku from Dragonball," said Ash. "Besides, we were only a couple of minutes behind you and saw the back of your head entering the library."

Tai sulked with his ego completely deflated.

At that moment, a glasses-wearing man wearing a dark blue tuxedo with a stripped scarf entered the garden.

"Oh, look who has arrived," said Tai. "It's everyone's favorite Glasses-Wearing Senior: Keitaro Urashima!"

**[Keitaro Urashima – Love Hina, Age: 34]**

Keitaro walked to the group. "Hey, guys!"

The next person to arrive was a blonde man wearing a familiar red coat over his tuxedo.

**[Edward Elric - Fullmetal Alchemist/FMA: Brotherhood, Age: 26]**

"I hope you guys are ready for me!"

A similar height-challenged blue-haired woman wearing a light purple dress arrived at the rooftop garden just a few seconds later.

**[Konata Izumi - Lucky Star, Age: 23]**

"Finally, I thought I was going to be lost in that maze for a while."

Finally, a brunette woman in her late teens wearing a light yellow dress arrived at the rooftop garden. She had yellow hairclips holding her hair up to keep her hair from covering her face.

"I'm sorry for arriving late, Sempais!" the brunette apologized.

**[Yui Hirasawa - K-On!, Age: 19]**

* * *

Tai, Ash, Syaoran, Hinata, Keitaro, Ed, Konata and Yui were on the rooftop garden.

"Now that everyone has arrived, let's do the official introductions to our fanfic readers," said Tai. "I'm Taichi Yagami, but you can call me Tai. There's also some guy named Ash Ketchum somewhere among this group. Well, I've pretty much have no idea what to add to the intro so I'll pass the buck to someone else."

**[Ash & Tai: 12 years of rivalry that hasn't ended]**

Ash frowned. "Thank you for hijacking my intro, Tai. You've saved me from introducing myself."

Syaoran waved at the readers. "Hi, I'm Li Syaoran. I'm someone who has managed to get promoted from a main character's love interest to a main character from one series to another."

"Still, it has been the most confusing series I've ever read," said Konata.

**[Syaoran: Very complicated]**

Hinata bowed to the readers. "Hello, I'm Hinata Hyuga. I just finished being in a part of a Naruto fanfic I was in and I've been invited to this fanfic because of my huge popularity. I hope that I can be useful here as well."

**[Hinata: Here as fanservice]**

Keitaro nodded. "Greetings, I'm Keitaro Urashima and I'm the oldest among the group."

Suddenly, Keitaro was interrupted when it began to rain over the Mahora Library rooftop garden. Keitaro hastily continued, "As you can see, my juniors have decided to give me the nickname of 'Megane-Sempai' because I wear glasses."

**[Keitaro: The oldest]**

Ed quickly made his introduction as he used his red jacket to cover himself. "I'm Edward Elric and I'm the star of Fullmetal Alchemist."

**[Edward: Not a vampire]**

Konata managed to acquire a raincoat before she made her quick introduction. "Hi, I'm Konata Izumi. I'm openly Otaku and a skilled gamer.

"Openly Otaku?" asked Ash.

"Let me rephrase that: I'm an open Otaku," said Konata.

**[Konata: Otaku]**

Konata then looked at the most junior member of the group, the newcomer Yui Hirasawa. "Yui, would you like to introduce yourself?"

Yui bowed to the group. "Hi, I'm Hokago Tea Time's Lead Guitarist, Yui Hirasawa and you could say that I'm the 'Kouhai' of the group..."

Suddenly, the rain began to get heavier during Yui's introduction, with the downpour almost muting the guitarist. Everyone else quickly tried to cover themselves from the rain with Hinata and Konata managed to take temporary shelter under Konata's raincoat.

A completely drenched Yui reluctantly continued her introduction. "I hope that my inexperience will not affect the fun we'll be having in this fanfic and I promise that I will be able to do my Sempais proud in this new fanfic."

**[Yui: Pitiful Kouhai]**

As soon as Yui finished her introduction, the rain stopped.

"You do wonder if the author is doing this to us on purpose," Tai grumbled. "Anyway, it's time for me to explain what this fanfic series is going to be about. You see, instead of going for a 'Reality TV'format, we're going with what's known as an 'Urban Action Variety' format. While the 'Reality' format would usually stick to one theme of the game, like _Survivor_ or _The Amazing Race_, but 'Urban Action Variety' is a more flexible option for us, since this fanfic have eight regular members and maybe the occasional guests who appear in the series."

Ash nodded. "Anyway, I would like to thank the readers on behalf of everyone here and I hope that they would enjoy the fanfic once it fully begins in the first official chapter once it's released."

* * *

**A PikaFlash's World 2013 project**

**The Anime Games: An Urban Action Variety Fanfic**

Introductory Chapter

_A Team PikaFlash Fanfic, working on Fanfics for 10 Years_

Disclaimers: All characters, Animes, Manga, Games and miscellaneous series referenced, mentioned or appearing in this fanfic belong to their respective owners. This fanfic is simply a medium to express ideas.

* * *

**Cast Recap:**  
Taichi 'Tai' Yagami (Digimon)  
Ash Ketchum (Pokémon)  
Hinata Hyuga (Naruto/Naruto Shippuden)  
Syaoran Li (Cardcaptor Sakura/Tsubasa: reservoir Chronicles)  
Keitaro Urashima (Love Hina)  
Edward Elric (Fullmetal Alchemist/FMA Brotherhood)  
Konata Izumi (Lucky Star)  
Yui Hirasawa (K-On!)


	2. 01: Let the Games Begin

**A PikaFlash's World 2013 project**

**The Anime Games: An Urban Action Variety Fanfic**

_A Team PikaFlash Fanfic, working on Fanfics for 12 Years_

**[Produced by the SOS Brigade]**

Disclaimers: All characters, Animes, Manga, Games and miscellaneous series mentioned or appearing in this fanfic belong to their respective owners. This fanfic is simply a medium to express ideas.

* * *

**[01: Let the Games Begin - Mahora Academy Library]**

After the celebrations in the introductory chapter, it was time for the real games to begin. The characters quickly changed out of their soaked formal attire into more appropriate attire for the occasion.

Tai calmly waited outside the Mahora Library, dressed in a blue tracksuit, ready for action. Then, Keitaro arrived in the same blue tracksuit. "Yo, Tai!"

"Megane-sempai, are you ready for a big night?" asked Tai.

"Of course," the glasses-wearing senior replied. _(Note: _Megane-Sempai_ is the nickname given to Keitaro by the other characters during the Pilot, mainly because he's the eldest character wearing glasses.)_

Next, two girls in blue tracksuits arrived at the library entrance. One had long blue-hair that reached her knees, while one has short brunette hair with a pair of hairclips to keep her hair up. They are Kyoto Animation colleagues Konata Izumi and Yui Hirasawa.

"Hey there!" greeted Konata as she and Yui walked up to Keitaro and Tai.

"Hey, Konata, Yui! Welcome to the party," said Tai. "I hope you two are ready for tonight."

Konata grinned. "I'm ready for anything."

"Of course, Tai-sempai," said Yui.

"I notice that aside from swapping Edward for Konata, we're using almost the same team we had for that Nyan Cat race in the Pilot," Keitaro noted.

Tai nodded. "Yeah, Ash and I decided to swap teammates just to change things up a bit."

Keitaro looked up. "Well, here comes the other team."

At that moment, Ash's team walked towards the library building, led by Ash being flanked by Hinata, Syaoran and Edward. The group of four was wearing red tracksuits, with Ash wearing a pair of shades while wearing his jersey over his shoulders like a mafia boss, Hinata wearing her jersey with the hood over her head, Syaoran and Edward having their jerseys wrapped around their waists.

Tai walked up to Ash. "What the hell? What kind of stunt are you trying to pull? You think you're some sort of mob boss, flanked by your goons?"

Ash removed his shades. "Well, I thought it would be awesome to come up with a flashy group entrance when we walk up."

"Well, it looks more like you leading a bunch of henchmen," said Tai. "I bet you'd love to hear the crowd to cheer, _'Oh, look at that, it's __**Ash Ketchum and his Henchmen**__'_!"

**[Ash - Mafia Boss; Hinata - Henchman No. 1; Ed - Henchman No. 2; Syaoran - Henchman No. 3]**

Ash remained stoic as he faced Tai's taunt. "Laugh all you want, Tai. In the end, my team will win tonight."

"We shall see. When my team lost that race last time, our punishment was giving free hugs while wearing Vocaloid cosplays," Tai said. "We get to pick the punishment this time."

"Alright, what would you suggest as a punishment, Konata?" Ash completely ignored Tai and looked straight at Konata, now a member of the opposing team.

"I suggest that the losers must go to a convenience store, buy some instant cup ramen, cook it there, and eat the ramen outside, while wearing maid uniforms," said Konata, with a completely straight face.

"That's a perfect punishment. Especially when our team consists of two girls, so it's not so embarrassing if we lose," said Tai, "compared to the other team with three guys who have a lot of dignity to lose."

Ash raised his hand. "I once was forced to dress up as a maid in a maid café."

"I was Sleeping Beauty for a school play," Syaoran added.

"And someone made me cosplay Rin Kagamine for a fan art," said Edward.

"So, we lost our dignity long ago," said Ash.

"And I don't mind being a ninja maid," added Hinata.

_(Wait a minute; did Ash's team simply give up long before the game even begins? Or are they provoking the other team?)_

Tai glared at the other team, provoked at the other team's relaxed attitude. "That's it! You're going down!"

Tai immediately calmed down as the two teams faced each other. "Even though we've split up into teams, we still have yet to introduce a couple of guests for this chapter."

Ash nodded. "That's right. This chapter's guests are Hikari Yagami and Naruto Uzumaki."

A long-haired brunette woman in a blue tracksuit arrived at the entrance, joining Tai's team.

**[Hikari Yagami - Digimon: Joining Team Tai]**

Next, a blonde man in a red tracksuit arrived as he immediately joined Ash's team.

**[Naruto Uzumaki - Naruto: Joining Team Ash]**

"I'm glad to see you two here," said Ash. "It's been a while since we last had a catch up, Kari."

Kari nodded. "It has been a while. It's great to be back in this sort of fanfic after a long hiatus."

Suddenly, Syaoran stood in front of Kari. "Normally, I don't usually do this in both my series I've been in since I'm a CLAMP character and I've have a romantic interest in those series, but I've always wanted to be OOC with impunity."

Syaoran dropped to his knees and held Kari's hand. "Oh, Miss Kari, despite not working with you for almost ten years, I never thought that you would be much more beautiful now."

Ash groaned as he looked at the readers. "Sakura, if you're reading this, we're terribly sorry for letting Syaoran act like my friend Brock in this fanfic. Please don't smack us with your wand."

**[The Rise of Playboy Syaoran]**

Syaoran glared at Tai. "And since the wonder Miss Kari is on your team, you should take good care of here or else I'll break your legs."

Tai sent a counter-glare back at Syaoran. "You idiot, you just flirted with my little sister! I should be the one saying that if she was on your team!"

Ash continued the introductions. "And we also have Naruto, who's has managed to find time from his busy schedule due to the current arc in both the Naruto Manga and Shippuden Anime."

Naruto nodded. "Yeah, I've been pretty doing my bit in the most epic climactic battles for both the Manga and Shippuden."

Konata noticed that Hinata is trying to avoid eye contact with Naruto. "I want to point out that Hinata-san is trying not to look at Naruto-san."

Hinata flinched at the statement. _'Why did you have to point that out, Konata-san?'_

Ash noticed the same thing. "Come to think of it, Hinata confessed to Naruto many chapters ago but Hinata has refused to say anything about it." Ash looked at Naruto. "Any comments to this, Naruto?"

"I can neither confirm nor deny," said Naruto. "You'll just have to read the Manga or watch Shippuden."

Yui raised her hand. "Excuse me, Sempais, but I like to point out that during my break, I was at a swimming pool and I saw Hinata-Sempai fighting with her swimming coach. It turns out he had the same hairstyle as Naruto-san."

**[Incriminator Yui: Strike 1]**

"That's so not true!" Hinata screamed with a huge blush on her face.

"Looks like our Kouhai got you there, Hinata-san." Konata grinned.

"I know, but you should know that there's a rumor of Konata-Sempai going to a club, but I know there's also a lot of bad stuff involving other Otakus at that place."

**[Incriminator Yui: Strike 2]**

"Bwah?" Konata became speechless.

Yui continued. "If you think that's bad, earlier today, I also saw Satoshi-sempai in the bathroom pretending to dance..."

**[Incriminator Yui: Strike 3]**

A furious Ash picked up a paper fan from a nearby prop box and smacks Yui in the back of the head. "Stop spreading around baseless rumors, Yui!"

**[Incriminator Yui: Struck]**

"Well, at least we now know Yui's starting to learn how to survive in a fanfic like this with her new incriminating skills." Konata rubbed her chin. "You know, if Yui was an Ikki Tousen character, then whoever has Yui's Incriminaiton skills on their side would end up ruling the whole Kanto region."

**[Meanwhile, in Konata's scenario in the Ikki Tousen universe, Yui stood by Gentoku Ryubi's side. She then snuck over to Motoku Sousou's side and whispered baseless incriminating rumors, causing Sousou to be confused. Then, Yui snuck over to Hakufu Sonsaku's side and whispered more baseless incriminating rumors, causing Sonsaku to be flustered. As both Sousou and Sonsaku disappear into obscurity because of the rumors, Yui rejoined her BFF Ryubi as they laughed at their victory.]**

Tai looked at the readers. "Well, I think it's time for us to begin the first game."

* * *

Ash and Tai were sitting at a desk in front of the Library entrance. The other players were sitting on chairs behind the duo.

"Before we start off the games, let's talk about how the winning and losing teams are determined," Ash spoke as though he was making a commentary. "Can you tell us about it, Tai?"

Tai nodded. "Teams will be competing against each other through the various games being played where the winning team will receive lottery balls for their victory to be used in, a lottery to determine the winner of this chapter. The more lottery balls a team wins, the better chances of them not getting the penalty. Obviously, if a team does not win any lottery balls during today's challenges, they will automatically receive the penalty."

"Excellent," said Ash. "Now that we know the rules, let's start on the first game:"

**[Telepathic Q & A]**

Ash explained the rules. "The rules for **Telepathic Q & A** are simple: _Two players from each team will be sitting at this desk with one player asking the questions from a list of questions while the other must try to give the correct answer from a list of answers within a given time limit. However, both players will be unable to hear each other as they will be listening to very loud music through the headphones they're wearing. The winning team will win two points for their team in the lottery._"

**[Team Tai's first attempt]**

Tai and Yui were now sitting at the desk as they put on their headphones for the challenge as Ash stood in behind the duo to give the signal to begin the game. Two crew members _(Outsourced by the S.O.S Brigade)_ were given the role of showing placards revealing a variety of random questions and answers for Tai and Yui.

"This is Team Tai's first attempt with Tai and Yui. Your time starts now!" Ash yelled.

The game has begun and with loud music being played on the headphones, both Tai and Yui were unable to hear each other's voices. Tai started off with the first question. "_What is Sephiroth's memorable line in Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children_?"

The correct answer is '_I will never be a memory_.' However, the answer Yui gave was, "**Lend me 40 bucks, Sempai**."

(Wait? Sephiroth's memorable line in **Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children** is '_Tai, lend me 40 bucks._')

Tai asked the next question."_What was once Naruto's catchphrase in the US version of his series?_"

Yui pointed at the answer list. "**In the name of the moon, I punish you!**"

"_Can you recite the most famous line in Shakespeare's famous play Hamlet?_"

Yui thrust her fist into the air. "**I caught a Pokémon!**" (Wrong)

"_What does Mr. Ash Ketchum say when he catches a Pokémon?_"

Yui rubbed her stomach. "**I'm still hungry.**" (Wrong)

_(Well, at least we now know what Ash _really_ ate during his journeys in Pokémon)_

"_What is the famous line in the chorus of the Card Captor Sakura opening 'Catch You, Catch me'?_"

Yui suddenly became a Tsundere. "**Quit acting cool, you're not that good looking.**" (Wrong)

"_What does Sailor Moon says when she confronts an enemy?_"

Yui did a quick dance. "**Catch You Catch You Catch Me Catch Me matte...**" (Wrong)

"_A female Tsundere would say this to a guy she likes:_"

Yui clenched her fist. "**To be or not to be, that is the question.**" _(Is that what a Tsundere would say to a guy she likes?)_

"_Can you recite the most famous line in Shakespeare's famous play Hamlet?_"

Yui yelled out, "**Believe it!**" _(That's Hamlet's most famous line?)_

Tai couldn't help but slip in a question of his own. "_What is your name?_"

Yui raised her hand and yelled, "**I caught a Pokémon!**" _(Yui's name is _'I caught a Pokémon!'_?)_

**[Time's up!]**

The other characters were laughing at the random answers given by Yui as Tai and Yui removed their headphones.

"Did we get any correct?" Tai asked.

"No, but it was hilarious," said Keitaro. "And Yui, I didn't know your name is Miss '**I caught a Pokémon!**'."

Yui had a blank look on her face.

* * *

**[Team Ash's First Attempt]**

Ash and Hinata were now at the desk wearing their headphones with Tai taking charge of giving the signals.

"Now, this is Team Ash's attempt with Ash and Hinata," Tai announced. "Ready… start!"

"_How are you feeling right now?"_ asked Ash.

Hinata clutched her chest. "_**My heart's about to explode!**_" _(Wrong! While it makes sense, it's not the correct answer.)_

Ash asked the next question. _"What happens when you drink too much beer and you feel unwell?"_

Hinata covered her mouth._ "__**I want to puke!**__" (Correct!)_

"_How would you feel if you pull an all-nighter?"_

Hinata feels her forehead. _"__**I'm tired.**__"_ _(Correct!)_

"_How would you feel if someone made a rumor about you with no actual evidence?"_

Hinata pouts. "_**Felt like I stepped on poop.**_" _(Correct!)_

"_After you ate a lot of good food, what would you say?"_

Hinata holds her stomach. _"__**My stomach's going to burst!**__" (Correct!)_

"_In a public toilet, you see a person doing something harmful to another person, how would you feel?"_

Hinata puts her hands together. "**It's so cute! I wanna have a bite!**" _(That's Hinata's first response when someone is in danger?)_

"_What would you say to someone who farted in an elevator?"_

Hinata clenched her fists. "**Awesome**!" _(Wha?)_

**[Time's up!]**

"You did it! You got four correct!" said Edward.

Both Ash and Hinata removed their headphones. "We did?" asked Hinata.

Ash stood up and pointed at Tai. "In your face, goggle-head!" yelled Ash.

Meanwhile, _Miss 'I caught a Pokémon!_' could only stare in disbelief.

* * *

**[Team Tai's second attempt]**

"This time, Yui can ask the questions and Hikari will answer," said Tai.

Both Kari and Yui sat at the desk.

"I'm putting all of my faith in you to win this one for us, Hikari," said Tai.

Kari nodded as she wore her headphones. Both Yui and Kari got themselves in the rhythm of the music they're listening to in the hope that they managed to successfully pair up the correct questions and answers.

"_What do you say to your friends when you want to borrow some cash?"_ asked Yui.

Hikari slammed the table. **"Let go of my leg!"** _(If you want cash, you yell _**'let go of my leg'**_?)_

"_What is the first hit single by Hokago Tea Time?"_

"**You're so noisy!"** _(Wrong!)_

"_When you're arguing with someone and you're extremely mad, what will you say?"_

"**OBJECTION!**" _(Is that what you say when you're furious?)_

"_What is the best congratulatory worss to a newly married couple?"_

"**If you find it, you'll get 10 bucks!"** (_Eh?_)

"_A female Yandere would say this to a guy she likes:"_

"**Fuwa Fuwa Time!" **_(Wha?)_

"_For people who like to stroke their own ego, like Yagami Taichi-san, what do they always want to say?"_

Hikari held out her hand.** "Lend me 40 bucks."** _(Wrong!)_

"_When you're arguing with someone and you're extremely mad, what will you say?"_

Hikari slammed her palm on the desk. "**I'm going to destroy you!**" (_Wrong!_)

"_In the hit Anime series Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood, what is Alphonse Elric's favorite animal?_"

"**Shut up!**" (_Wrong!_)

"_A lawyer will say this when they disagree with a statement in court:"_

"**I curse you!**" (_Really, is that what they say in court?_)

"_In school, what do you hear the male Sempais say the most neart the girls' locker room?"_

"**Let go of my leg!**" screamed Hikari. (_Wrong!_)

**[Time's up!]**

Both Yui and Hikari both removed their headphones, unaware that they didn't get any of the questions and answers correct.

"So, perverts would choose to reveal themselves by screaming 'Let go of my leg!'" said Hinata. "No wonder they get caught easily."

"Alright, now it's our turn," said Ash. "Time to put this in the bag."

Both Syaoran and Ash sat at the desk, ready for their turn.

"Are you ready, Ash?" asked Syaoran.

Ash nodded. "Anytime, Syaoran."

Ash and Syaoran put on their headphones. "Your time starts now!"

"_What do you want to happen to someone you hate?"_ asked Syaoran.

"**Constipation,"** answered Ash_. (Wait, you want constipation to happen to someone you hate?)_

"_What is the common term for a situation when you are unable to poop?" _asked Syaoran.

"**Don't fix it,**" Ash simply answered. (**Ouch!**)

"_Finish this famous saying -'If it ain't broke-'_"

"**Argentinian Back Breaker**!" answered Ash. (_Double Ouch!_)

"_When an Otaku is carefully trying to complete his collection, what should you not do?"_

"**Onigiri**." _(Wrong!)_

Tai thrust his fist in excitement. "Yes. Not even a single correct answer..."

"_What is the name of Mr. Ash Ketchum's long-time companion when he travels through the various Pokémon regions?_"

"**Fart**." (_Really? That probably explained that weird fan Pokémon animation on Youtube._)

"_When you can't mention someone's name or can't remember someone's name, what do you use in place of their name?_"

"**Pikachu!**" (_Wrong_!)

"_When you body has a digestive problem, what is the gas your body release?_"

"**The Great Naruto Bridge!**" (_That is one seriously massive digestive problem._)

"_In Naruto, what is the name of the major bridge linking the land of Waves with the mainland?_"

"**Constipation!**" (_No one wants to be near that wrestling ring when that move is used._)

**[Time's up!]**

The members of Tai's team laughed. Naruto angrily walked up to Ash and Syaoran. "Seriously? How could you consider wanting the person you hate to have constipation?!"

"But did we get any correct?" asked Syaoran.

Tai grinned. "Nope."

"Dammit," cursed Ash.

Tai sighed. "But still, Hinata managed give four correct answers, so Team Ash wins this game and the lottery ball!"

Team Ash celebrated their victory as they received their lottery ball.

* * *

The two teams gathered inside the main library hall for the next game. Tai stood in front of the two teams as the others sat on benches to watch.

"Our next game is a solo game called 'Pain Auction', where everyone is participating as individual bidders making bids on important items that could potentially benefit the bidder or their team later on in the game," Tai explained. "However, as you can tell from the name of this game, the price bid for each item is a punishment that a bidder has personally chosen to earn the item. Let us begin the auction: Please bring out the first item!"

At that moment, Kyon (from the Haruhi Suzumiya series) walked in, transporting a covered portrait frame that holds the item that everyone is suppose to be bidding for. Once Kyon leaves, Tai stood next to the item. "I think before the item up for bidding, I like to see what bids we can get. Do we have any bidders?"

At that moment, Syaoran raised his hand. "One smack in the forehead!"

Tai pointed at Syaoran. "Smack in the forehead! Any other offers?"

Yui raised her hand. "Three hits on the wrist!"

"Three hits on the wrist," said Tai. "Anything else?"

Syaoran made his counter-offer. "Smack in the forehead, followed by a noogie!"

"I got one!" Ed raised his hand. "A slap on both cheeks from an automail arm!"

Tai groaned. "You know what, let's pick something more realistic. The punishment will involve hits in the forehead using chopsticks and the bid you make is the number of hits, got it?"

"If that's the case, 15 hits with the chopstick," Edward said.

Keitaro looked at Edward. "Are you kidding me, Ed?"

"I'm good at enduring pain," Edward said. "Haven't you seen me do that in both series of Fullmetal Alchemist?"

"That makes sense." Tai simply nods in agreement. "Alright, current bid is 15 hits."

Yui raised her hand. "16 hits!"

Tai pointed at Yui. "16 from Yui!"

"Twenty!" yelled Syaoran as he rasied his hand.

"Twenty from Syaoran! Any more bids? Going once, going twice..." Tai then paused. "Come to think of it. Ash and Naruto, aren't you going to make any bids?"

Naruto shook his head. "No thanks. I rather know why I'm hurting myself before I make my bid."

"Fair enough," said Tai.

Keitaro looked at Naruto. "Naruto-san, maybe if you make a bid of 22, I'll bid 23."

Naruto shook his head. "I'm not going to fall for that trick, Keitaro-san."

At that moment, Edward raised his hand. "Twenty-five!"

"Twenty-five hits from Mr. Elric! Do I hear twenty-six? Alright, twenty-five going once..."

Keitaro rasied his hand. "Twenty-six!"

"Yes, Twenty-six from Mr. Urashima. Going once..."

Yui raised her hand. "Twenty-seven!"

"Twenty-seven from Miss Hirasawa!"

"Twenty-eight!" yelled Keitaro.

"Twenty-eight, going once, going twice...sold to Keitaro Urashima!" Tai yelled. "Congratulations. Let's see what you've won."

Tai removes the cloth hiding the item up for sale, revealing the first item up for bids: An **'Ash Ketchum Usage Voucher'**.

Tai grinned. "You're in luck, Keitaro! You'll get to have Ash Ketchum as your slave for today, even if he's the opposing team leader which means that there will be one less person for us to worry about in the next game."

"Yes!" Keitaro jumped up in excitement as he walked up towards Tai.

"That's if you can get through your punishment of twenty-eight hits on the forehead," added Tai

"So I must get hit first before I can use him. I guess I'll take my chances."

"Alright, Mr. Ketchum, if you would kindly please come up to hit Mr. Urashima in the forehead with the chopsticks?"

Keitaro glared at Tai. "Wait? He's going to hit me in the forehead?"

"It's an **Ash Ketchum Usage Voucher**. It's only fair that he gets to smack you in the forehead with the chopsticks."

Ash walked up towards the front with an evil grin.

Tai then added, "Also, if you make any noise when you get hit, your bid is invalid and we must start the bidding all over again. However, the ladies are excluded from this rule. So, just remember to be reasonable when you make your bids."

Keitaro glared at Tai. "What the hell? Couldn't you at least try telling us that before we made our bids?"

Ash picked up a pair of disposable chopsticks. "Prepare yourself, Keitaro."

Keitaro sighed. "Alright, let's get this over with.

Ash smacked Keitaro in the forehead using the chopsticks. "Ow."

Keitaro rubbed his forehead after the hit, unable to take the pain from the hit. The other bidders could only laugh. Tai rang a bell.

"You said 'Ow', so now the bid's invalid," said Tai. "This is an important reminder that you must be reasonable when making your bids. Now, let's start over. Starting bid is one hit."

Syaoran raised his hand. "One hit!"

Ed raised his hand. "Two hits!"

"Two hits from Mr. Elric!"

"Four hits!" Yui yelled.

"Four hits from Miss Hirasawa."

Konata raised her hand. "Five!"

"Six hits!" yelled Keitaro.

Everyone immediately looked at the bidder. "Are you asking for more punishment, Keitaro-sempai?" asked Konata.

"Sold to Mr. Urashima. Again..." Tai announced and everyone else laughed at the unfortunate situation that Keitaro had put himself in. Keitaro had barely recovered from the first hit and he was up again for another round of punishment, this time, with six hits instead of the original twenty-eight from his first attempt.

"Alright, bring it on," said Keitaro.

Ash smacked Keitaro's forehead with the chopsticks, eliciting a small "Ow!" from the glasses-wearing senior, bring out more laughter from the other bidders.

Tai tried his best to hold back his laughter. "The bid's invalid, so we're starting over."

"I was only catching my breath," Keitaro protested.

"Who catches his breath by saying 'Ow'?" asked Tai. "We're starting over from the beginning."

Syaoran's bid: "One hit!"

Ed raised his hand. "Two hits"

"Three!" yelled Keitaro. However, everyone laughed.

Hikari raised her hand. "Four hits."

Edward makes his bid. "Seven hits!"

"Seven hits from Mr. Elric. Going once..."

Syaoran raised his hand. "Question: Does the winner of the voucher get to use Ash in any way they want him for the whole day?"

"Of course," answered Tai. "Seven hits, going twice. Any other bids?"

No response from the other bidders.

Tai pointed at Ed. "Sold to Mr. Edward Elric! Congratulations, Ash Ketchum will be your slave if you can take the seven hits."

Ed walked up to Tai as Ash picks up the wooden chopsticks.

"Think you can take the hits, Ed?" asked Tai.

"No problem. I can take the hits and make good use of him," Ed replied.

Keitaro shook his head. "Pft, I won't even have Ash as my slave even if he's free of charge."

"Says the guy who couldn't take the first hit," mumbled Konata.

Ed moved his hair to expose his forehead. "I'm ready."

Ash landed the first hit on Ed's forehead. Ed calmly smiled. Ash lands another two hits and Ed remained calm.

"You can back out if you want to, Ed," Ash said as he picked up a bell. "You want to stop?"

Ed shook his head. "I've made it this far. I can take it."

Ash landed three more hits on Ed's forehead. "One more and I'll be your slave. Do you have any regrets?"

"Just do it, Ash."

Ash sighed as he hit Ed's forehead for the seventh time, winning Ed the **Ash Ketchum Voucher**.

"Edward Elric wins the **Ash Ketchum Voucher**!"

Ash silently groaned as he followed Ed back to their seats.

Tai stood in front of the group as Kyon brings in the next lottery item, hidden by a cloche.

"Let us see what the next item that is up for auction." As Tai was about to remove the cloche, the other players couldn't wait in anticipation for the next item. "Alright, our next item..."

Tai removes the cloche, revealing a lottery ball.

**[2nd Auction Item: Lottery Ball]**

Tai gives a general description on the auctioned item. "Our next item is this all important **Lottery Ball**! As you all know, later tonight, we'll be holding a lottery to see who gets punished, so a lottery ball is a must if you do not wish for your team to go through the punishment. Even though this is an individual game, the person who wins the auction for this lottery ball will win it for the team. So I hope that someone on our team would be willing to win us this lottery ball. Let's start the bidding."

Ed raised his hand. "Three hits."

"Three hits from Ed."

"Four hits!" yelled Syaoran.

"Four from Syaoran!"

Yui raised her hand. "Seven!"

"Are you sure, Yui?" asked Konata.

"I'll be fine, Sempai," said Yui.

"Hinata Hyuga, eight hits!" Hinata yelled out.

"Hinata Hyuga bids for eight hits. Any more bids?"

"Don't you think doing eight hits to a lady like Hinata makes us look bad?" Ash asked.

"Going once, going twice..."

"I'll be fine, Satoshi-san," said Hinata.

"Sold for Eight Hits to Hinata Hyuga!" announced Tai.

Hinata and Konata walked up to the front as Konata prepares to hit Hinata in the forehead with the chopsticks.

"Are you ready, Hinata-sempai?" asked Konata.

Hinata nods. "Do it."

Konata lands the first hit on Hinata's head, followed by immediately hugging Hinata. "It's alright, Sempai," said Konata.

"Do you want to give up?" asked Tai.

"No, Tai-san," Hinata answered.

Konata then followed up with four more hits, though

"Oh come on!" Keitaro protected. "Konata's being too soft on Hinata! At least let me do the rest."

"Fair enough," said Tai. "Take a break, Konata."

Hinata looked up. "Eh?"

As Keitaro got up from his seat and walked towards Hinata, Syaoran immediately raised his hand. "Let me be Hinata-san's Black Knight!"

"Being the playboy again, Syaoran?" said Ed. "Come on, Naruto, why don't you be Hinata's black knight since she confessed to you?"

"Err...I prefer to be white," Naruto replied.

"How about this, Naruto and Syaoran would each take a hit for Hinata from Keitaro," Tai proposed.

Both Naruto and Syaoran stood at the front as Keitaro prepared the wooden chopstick. Keitaro hits both Syaoran and Naruto, but both of them managed to endure the pain, enabling Hinata to win the Lottery Ball.

"Alright, Hinata wins a Lottery Ball for Team Ash! So now, it's time for us to reveal the last item!"

At that moment, Kyon brings in another covered portrait that is up for auction. Tai immediately reveals the last item: A **'Punishment Immunity Voucher'**.

Everyone became excited as the final item was revealed.

**[3rd Auction Item: Punishment Immunity Voucher]**

"The Pièce de résistance: A must-have for any competitor in this game. The holder of this voucher is guaranteed immunity from punishment if their team loses the lottery. However, if your team happens to win the lottery, then the voucher is completely worthless."

"It doesn't matter," said Keitaro. "I don't want to go through the punishment. Not after last time in the Vocaloid cosplay."

Ash immediately raised his hand. "Five hits!"

"Five hits from Ash Ketchum?"

Yui raised her hand. "Eight hits!"

"Ten hits!" Konata yelled out.

"Ten hits from Konata." Tai then raised his hand. "My bid is thirteen hits."

Everyone blinked. The auctioneer is also participating in the bid?

"You're making a bid as well?" asked Ed. "Does that even count?"

"It doesn't matter," said Tai." Thirteen hits from me! I really don't want to wear the maid costume!"

Konata made her bid. "Sixteen!"

"Now you're getting desperate, Konata," said Keitaro.

"I just don't want anyone in the other team to win immunity," Konata explained

"Seventeen!" yelled Syaoran.

"Eighteen!" Yui yelled.

Konata made her counter-offer. "Twenty!"

Naruto wrote on a card and raised it up, revealing the number **21**.

Tai spotted Naruto's bid. "Okay, a blonde mystery bidder has made a bid for twenty-one hits in the forehead. Going once, going twice! Sold to mystery bidder Naruto Uzumaki!"

Naruto calmly walked up to the front to receive his punishment before earning the immunity.

Ash held up the chopstick. "How do you want me to do this, Naruto?"

"Hit me five times in a row."

"You got it." Ash hits Naruto's forehead five times with the chopsticks. Naruto managed to endure the hit as he calmly rubs his forehead from the continuous hits.

Tai held out the bell. "Do you wish to give up?"

""I've already taken one hit for Hinata. I should be able to handle Twenty-one," said Naruto

"Another five hits in a row?" asked Ash.

Naruto rubbed his forehead. "Make it three hits instead."

As Ash landed the sixth hit on Naruto's forehead, Naruto immediately raised his hand and said, "Give me a sec."

Tai immediately rang the bell. "Bid's been cancelled."

Naruto sent a look at Tai. "Eh? But how?"

"Your 'give me a sec' cancelled the bid," Tai explained.

Naruto returned to his seat as he laid himself on the bench in frustration as Tai continued the auction. "Let's start the auction again."

"Eleven!" yelled Yui.

"Twelve!" Konata counter-bids.

"Thirteen!" Yui countered.

"Fifteen!" Konata countered.

"Fifteen hits from Miss Izumi! Any more bids? Going once..."

"Sixteen!" Yui yelled. At that moment, Konata sent a glare at Yui.

"I'm sorry, Sempai," Yui quietly apologized.

"Sixteen from Miss Hirasawa! Going once, going twice..." Tai then raised his hand. "Nineteen hits! Going once, going twice..."

"I protest! Twenty!" Konata yelled.

Naruto raised his card again. "Twenty one from me!"

"Alright, twenty-one hits, going once, going twice." Tai then raised his hand again for the snipe. "Twenty two from me! Do I hear Twenty three? Going once! Any more bids?" Going twice!" Tai became nervous. "Do I hear any more bids?"

"Get on with it, Tai!" Ash yelled as he ran to the front and hits the bell. "Sold for twenty-two hits to Mr. Yagami!"

"Come on, Ash. Let's take turns hitting Tai's head," said Keitaro.

Both Keitaro and Ash walked up to the front as they prepare to administer punishment on Tai.

Keitaro grinned. "Alright, if Tai can endure five hits without making any noise, I'll give him my Hinata Dorm."

"I'll take that bet," said Tai. "I could do with the rent from an all-girls dorm and immunity from punishment."

Ash prepared to hit Tai's forehead. "Here I come!"

Tai braced himself as Ash landed the first hit on Tai's forehead. Tai collapsed onto a nearby bench from the hit, but he managed to endure and not make a noise in response.

"Are you ready to give up or go for another round, Mr. Yagami?" Ash asked as he held up the bell.

"I'm fine, Ash," Tai said. "I'd just have to endure another four hits and the Hinata Dorm is mine. Let's do this."

Tai calmly walked up to Ash with a smile on his face before he pressed the bell, effectively making his bid invalid. Tai simply gave up from the shock of that first hit.

"I knew he wouldn't make it," said Keitaro. "That's why I risked the deeds to my Dorm."

Tai rubbed his forehead. "So says the guy who claimed 'Ow' is a part of his breathing."

"Man, I really want that coupon," said Syaoran.

"Well, just remember that your bid must be in bearable conditions," Tai reminded everyone as he quickly recovered and resumed the auction. "Alright, let's begin round three of the auction for the Punishment Immunity voucher!"

Syaoran: "One hit!"

Keitaro: "Two."

Ash: "Three."

Syaoran: "Four!"

Ed: "Five!"

Yui: "Six!"

Konata than raised her hand. "Seven!"

"Seven hits from Miss Izumi! Do I hear eight hits? Alright, seven hits! Going once! Going twice! SOLD for seven hits to Miss Izumi!" Tai announced.

Konata happily walked up to the front to proceed with the punishment to win the immunity as Keitaro prepared to hit Konata's forehead with the chopsticks.

"How do you want me to hit you, one at a time or 3-3-1?"

"I'll go with 3-3-1."

"As you wish, Konata, I'm not going to show any special treatment because of the rules of the game, but you're free to make noise since you're a girl," said Keitaro. "Here I go."

Keitaro calmly flicked the chopstick at Konata's forehead three times. After the third hit, Konata winced as she rubbed her forehead.

"Do you wish to give up?" asked Keitaro.

"No, I can take it. Keep on going."

Keitaro flicked Konata's forehead three more times as Konata winced in pain again. At that moment, Yui raised her hand. "I can't bear to see you in pain, Konata-sempai. At least let me take that last hit for you!"

Konata looked back at Yui. "I can handle it. Do it, Megane-sempai."

Keitaro landed the final flick on the forehead, enabling Konata to win the Punishment Immunity Voucher.

"Finally!" said Konata as she picked up her voucher.

"Konata Izumi wins the Punishment Immunity Voucher!" announced Tai. "And with Hinata winning the Lottery Ball, Team Ash has two lottery balls while my team has none. But we're not going to give up."

Producer Koizumi Itsuki arrived to give out the next instructions to the two teams.

"The next game is **Hide and Seek**. The object of the game is that one team must hide for **one hour** while the other team must catch and remove the other team's armbands. However, there is a twist. Each hiding team member will have a cell phone with preset alarms attached to their armbands."

"That means that if the alarm rings, then we'll be discovered," said Tai.

"So, it's basically a game of **Alarms Hide and Seek with Tag**," said Ash. "I think this will be interesting."

"That is correct," said Koizumi. "The alarms will reveal the position of the hiding team's members. But if at least one member of the hiding team doesn't get caught within the time limit, they will win the game. You are free to hide anywhere within the upper levels of the Library building or around the Library grounds; however, you are not allowed to leave Library Island or go to the lower levels. The Winning Team will win two lottery balls."

* * *

**[11:45 PM]**

Inside a meeting room within the library, Team Ash was having a strategy meeting as Producer Koizumi explained the rules.

"It is now **11:45 PM**. Team Tai will be going to their hiding spots at **11:50pm**, and at **Midnight**, the game will begin and you have one hour to find all members of the other team. Once you capture a member of the other team, you must remove their armband with the alarm on it to remove them from the game."

"Sounds simple enough," said Naruto.

Koizumi added, "There is also a special rule that applies to both teams: You are not allowed to run around the ground floor of the library building."

"But we can power walk, right?" asked Syaoran.

Naruto looked at Hinata. "What's power walking, Hinata?"

Hinata does her best to explain. "It's when you try to walk as fast as possible, while trying to keep one foot on the ground."

"It doesn't matter. This game isn't about walking. It's running! So, we're running anyway," said Ash, completely throwing the concept of speed walking out of the window.

* * *

Meanwhile, outside the Library, Team Tai were preparing to hide as Producer Asahina explained the rules. "As long as you stay on the island, you won't get disqualified," the producer explained the rules. In order to win this game, you must make sure the other team does not remove these armbands off your arms. If your armband is removed, you are out of the game."

Each of the team members then received an armband attached to a cell phone case with a touch-screen phone inside. As the team members put on the armbands, Tai noticed that the phone is within a thick transparent case. "It looks like we can't tamper with the phone alarms when they ring."

As the clock on the phone hits 11:50 pm, the phones suddenly play _'Hare Hare Yukai'_ in a very loud tone, catching everyone by surprise. Keitaro tries to cover his phone, but the music can still be heard. After 30 seconds, the music stopped.

"Well, that's just great. Someone turned a very happy song in to a song that we will dread in the next hour," Konata said.

_(And since they can't tamper with the phones, they are completely unaware when the next time the alarm would ring.)_

"I have an idea," Yui suggested. "We can split into two groups and spread ourselves around. As long as one of us doesn't get caught, we'll win."

"Good idea, Yui," said Tai. "Kari, Konata and Keitaro can hide in the library while both Yui and I will hide outside on the grounds."

The group quickly split up so that they can go to their first hiding spots. Tai and Yui remained outside as Yui slipped behind some bushes next to a wall to use as her hiding spot while Tai hid in a dark behind a storage shed.

"I hope we don't run into a dead end or its game over for us," Tai mumbled to himself.

Meanwhile, the remaining three team members found their hiding spots inside the main library building.

At Midnight, the game has begun as Team Ash began their search for the other team.

Edward surveyed his surroundings. "It looks like there's only one entrance to this building that we are allowed to use."

"Let's split up," Ash suggested. "One group will remain in the building while another will search outside."

"Good idea," said Hinata.

Ash and Naruto went outside the library as Hinata, Edward and Syaoran stayed indoors.

Outside, Ash and Naruto were amazed at how the library takes up almost the entire island. "Man, this place is huge. How are we going to find them in a place like this?"

Five minutes has passed as Ash and Naruto searched the library grounds, meanwhile at Tai's hiding spot, the nerves began to kick in as his stomach began to hurt from the tension.

Tai silently groaned. "I should have gone to the bathroom before we started the game," he mumbled to himself.

However, just as Tai thought that he was safe from danger, the opening riff of _'Hare Hare Yukai'_ is played from the phone's alarm.

"Oh crap," Tai mouthed.

The other members of Tai's team quickly flinched as they heard the same alarm tone that broke the silence. Inside the library, Kari hid under a desk while Keitaro desperately tries to find another hiding spot, fearing that his cover has been blown.

Back outside, despite being close to Tai's hiding spot, somehow Ash didn't hear Tai's alarm. "I wonder if the alarm went off." Ash said to himself.

Tai could only thank his lucky stars that Ash didn't hear the alarm as he ran to another hiding spot after the scariest 30 seconds of his life. "I almost thought I was going to die back there," Tai mumbled to himself. He looked at the alarm on his armband. "It's as though the very thing that I must protect with my life is also the thing that will end me."

* * *

Inside the library, the alarm had exposed Kari's location, forcing her to make a run for it as Edward and Syaoran search for the source of the alarm in the same area. As Kari ran down some stairs, Hinata managed to spot Kari. Hinata pulled out her walkie-talkie. "I found Kari! She's heading to the first floor!"

Hinata tried to pursue Kari, but Kari managed to outrun Hinata and ran away so quickly that not even the fanfic author could keep up with her...

After losing sight for Kari for few seconds, Kari's handler began to search for her within the library. "Kari? Where did you go? You do know that we need you in this fanfic. Kari?"

**[The Disappearance of Hikari Yagami...]**

* * *

Back outside, Kari's big brother Tai checked around a corner. "I think it's better if I hide inside the library since Ash is outside here. As a Digimon character, it will be humiliating if I get caught by that Pokémon Trainer."

It just happened that Ash is blocking the only entrance into the library. "We just have to be patient. We will hear an alarm at least once and sooner or later, someone will head this way."

Tai slowly made his way to towards the library entrance as he slipped through the shadows behind a few other library buildings. "Looks like I'm safe for now," Tai mumbled to himself. However, he spoke too soon as _'Hare Hare Yukai'_ is played for the second time.

30 minutes remain as the alarms played _'Hare Hare Yukai'_ for the second time. Yui continued to stay at her hiding spot behind the bushes. Inside the library building, Konata sits comfortably at her hiding spot in a store room while Keitaro hid behind a library shelf. Kari remains missing in action.

This time, Ash managed to hear _'Hare Hare Yukai'_ being played. "Someone is definitely here," he said. Ash began to run towards the direction of the alarm. He climbed up a small hill, trying to get a better view of the area.

However, Tai managed to spot Ash from a hiding spot within the shadows. "Oh crap, it's Ash Ketchum," mumbled Tai. "I guess it's now or never."

Tai proceeds to run towards the unguarded library entrance under the cover of darkness.

* * *

Back inside the library, Tai's younger sister still remains missing in action. 20 minutes had passed before Kari had reemerged. She slowly hid behind a library sign. It was at that moment that Edward had arrived in the vicinity and began to search the area.

With almost 20 minutes remaining in the game, Kari could only hope that her alarm would not ring as Ed walked past Kari's hiding spot. However...

* * *

...the _'Hare Hare Yukai' _alarm tone was being played for the third time in the game on everyone's alarms.

As Ed walked through a library aisle, he managed to hear the song from Kari's alarm. Ed ran towards the source of the music as Kari quickly got out of her hiding spot and ran towards the exit. But Edward spotted her escaping. "I found Kari!"

Kari was able to outrun her pursuer. "I can't stay here any longer. I got to get out of here!"

Kari noticed an emergency exit. "They didn't say anything about using the emergency exits to get out."

As Kari opened the emergency exit door, the first person she happened to meet behind the door was a man wearing a red cap and tracksuit with a psychotic grin.

"Look who do we have here," said Ash.

"Kyaaaa, it's Ash Ketchum!" Kari tried to escape, but Ash managed to remove Kari's armband before she could get away, eliminating her from the game.

At the same time, both Hinata and Syaoran heard the alarm on Keitaro's armband and the duo managed to catch Keitaro by cutting off his escape routes. Hinata swiftly removed Keitaro's armband.

In the 30 seconds of _'Hare Hare Yukai'_ being played, both Kari and Keitaro have been eliminated.

**[Kari, Keitaro - Eliminated]**

**[Remaining: Konata, Tai, Yui]**

Meanwhile, Kari was taking her handler to a dark and isolated storeroom. "This was where I was hiding for the past 20 minutes," said Kari.

"Why did you come out now?" asked the handler.

Kari scratched the back of her head. "It was dark and I got a bit scared."

_(She was hiding in that dark room for 20 minutes?)_

* * *

Outside, Tai had to reach the main entrance of the Library building after managing to evade Ash. He watched through the windows as both Keitaro and Kari were taken to the 'detention' area.

"Looks like Kari and Megane-Sempai have been caught," whispered Tai.

Hinata happened to look outside the window and she spotted Tai.

"Oh crap. She saw me," Tai mumbled. He proceeded to slip away from the main entrance and find a place to hide.

10 minutes remain as Hinata and Edward walked out the library building. "I think I saw Taichi-kun," Hinata said. At that moment, they could hear the fourth alarm of _'Hare Hare Yukai'_ being played as Tai tried to return to his first hiding spot.

"Oh crap, why did it have to be now?" Tai mumbled to himself, now that his position has been exposed.

Hinata and Ed quickly split up, hoping to cut Tai off.

"Hey you, stop right there!" Ed yelled as he chased after Tai. Tai quickly ran around a corner and found Hinata trying to block his path, but Tai managed to slip past her. Out of desperation, Tai ran into the library building.

Hinata pulled out her walke-talkie. "Syaoran-kun, we got one heading into the library!"

Inside the library, Syaoran made his way to the entrance as he joined the pursuit after Tai.

However, despite having three people in pursuit, Tai quickly used his natural agility to evade his pursuers around around the entrance before leading the chase through a corridor. Tai quickly snuck through an emergency exit after running around a corner, completely evading his pursuers. Once outside, Tai quickly ran into the men's bathroom for a quick breather from the chase.

Tai looked at his handler _(Junpei from Digimon Frontier)_, who had been following him since the beginning of the game. "You know, it would be good if I get caught by somebody other than my nemesis Ash. It's less humiliating that way," Tai whispered. "After all, if Ash catches me, it would only inflate his ego."

Suddenly, Tai heard a voice from outside the men's room. "I have to go pee."

At that moment, Naruto walked into the bathroom and spotted Tai. "Oh. Hello. How are you doing today?" greeted Naruto.

**[The Awkward Bathroom Conversation of Naruto and Tai]**

"Oh, I'm very good. How about you? How is the Shippuden going along?" Tai politely returned the greeting.

"It's going pretty well. They told me that the current storyline have positive reviews from the fans," Naruto replied.

After a short pause, Tai immediately went to business. "You do know that I will fight tooth and nail to get out of this mess."

Naruto calmly looked at the mirror. "I'm just here to use the toilet, so I'll let you go just this once."

Tai became skeptical of Naruto's offer. "Really?"

Naruto adjusted his hair. "Just go. I won't follow you."

"Alright, I'm going now." Tai walked towards the exit, only to find the one and only Ash Ketchum blocking the only escape route.

**[Out of the Fox's Ramen Bowl and into the Pokémon Trainer's Poké Ball]**

Tai doubled back towards Naruto. "That's just mean, Naruto! You just handed me over on a silver platter!"

Naruto finished using the bathroom. "What can I say? I'm a sneaky fox."

Tai could only sulk in defeat. "Let's just get it over and done with it."

Naruto ripped off Tai's armband, eliminating him.

**[Tai - Eliminated]**

**[Remaining: Konata, Yui]**

An exhausted Tai collapsed on the ground outside the Men's bathroom as he made his final speech in the game. "I like to thank my supporters who have supported me all this time. Next time, I will try harder and win."

* * *

Meanwhile, at Yui's hiding spot, 10 minutes remain as Yui could spot Ash and Naruto searching the area.

"I hope Taichi-sempai is alright," Yui said. At that moment, the fourth _'Hare Hare Yukai'_ alarm rang, revealing her location to the two pursuers, forcing Yui to slip under the bushes. Yui could only hope that they did not hear the noise.

However, the music did not escape both Ash and Naruto's ears. Ash had managed to discern Yui's location and slowly walked towards there. Ash ran through the bushes, forcing Yui to make a run for it.

"Come back here, Yui!" yelled Ash.

"**Ahhh, it's Ash Ketchum**!" screamed Yui as she made a run for it.

Yui managed to narrowly escape from Ash and Naruto's initial chase after running around a couple of corners. Yui quickly hid some bushes before Ash and Naruto arrived at the scene.

"Yui, you do know that you're not allowed to get off the island and that includes swimming in the water!" Ash yelled out. He slowly checked behind some bushes and spotted the brunette teenager's blue tracksuit and an armband with an alarm attached to it. Ash calmly removed Yui's armband, making her the fourth victim. "Gotcha," Ash said.

A teary-eyed Yui could only stay in her hiding place in defeat. "What a waste..."

**[Yui - Eliminated]**

**[Remaining: Konata]**

* * *

At the 'Detention' area, Tai, Keitaro, Yui and Kari have placed their hopes on Konata to stay hidden with only five minutes remaining.

"Konata is the only one on our team who hasn't been caught yet," said Tai.

"Come on, Konata. Win for us," said Keitaro.

The blue-haired Otaku had managed to find a decent hiding spot in a storeroom on the third floor of the library. Almost an hour ago, Konata had placed a 'Staff only' sign outside the storeroom, hoping that no one would think of going that way to search for her. After setting up a few visual obstructions, Konata proceeded to stay in her hiding place for the duration of the game.

With only a couple of minutes remaining, Team Ash has begun a desperate search inside and outside the library for Konata. If Konata's armband is taken, Team Ash will win the game.

Hinata just happened to be searching the third floor as she noticed a suspicious door with a 'Staff Only' sign on the outside. Konata is unaware of the danger outside the storeroom, hoping that no one would find her in there.

However, the alarm on Konata's armband began to play the _'Hare Hare Yukai'_, this time indicating an hour has passed since the game began. Konata checked her alarm and she danced to the song in victory. Konata had managed to hide from her pursuers for the entire hour, bringing victory to her team.

Outside, Hinata heard Konata's alarm. However, it didn't matter now as the game is now over.

**[Victory to Team Tai!]**

A jubilant Konata followed by a dejected Hinata arrived at the detention area, where everyone else was waiting.

The winning team began to celebrate their victory, receiving their crucial two lottery balls while the defeated team could only be berated by their furious team captain while Naruto miraculously managed to avoid the berating.

**[The Beratement of Ash Ketchum]**

Ash glared at his 'henchmen'. "And you call yourselves my henchmen. What do you have to say for yourselves?"

Hinata, Ed and Syaoran could only bow in forgiveness. "We're sorry," the trio said in unison.

* * *

Inside a classroom at Mahora Academy, Team Tai and Team Ash were now seated at two tables facing each other as Tai introduced the next game. "It's now time for **After-Game Tea Time**!"

**[After-Game Tea Time]**

"It's a pretty blatant reference to Hokago Tea Time," Syaoran pointed out.

Tai ignored Syaoran and continued the introduction. "In **After-Game Tea Time**, both teams will enjoy a nice hot drink to recover from fatigue after a very tiring game (Note: For those who just joined us, it was the hide-and-seek game previously). But, the two teams must play games to determine the ingredients in their drink. Once the ingredients have been determined, the first team to finish their drink first wins **After-Game Tea Time** and the winning team will win two lottery balls."

At that moment, Producer Asahina _(in her maid costume)_ entered the classroom with a cart with a large bowl of instant coffee and a cloth covering six different utensils.

"This is how the first game goes. Each team member will choose a random number from 1 to 5. The number that is picked corresponds to a utensil used to scoop the coffee into your cup. To make it fair, once a utensil has been picked by a team member, the numbers are randomly moved around so that the next team member won't be able to pick the same utensil on the same number. Team Ash will make the first choices."

Ash nodded. "Alright, I pick No. 1."

Asahina revealed the No. 1 utensil: A tablespoon. Asahina then gave Ash a single tablespoon of coffee in his cup. After mixing up the numbers, Asahina looked at Hinata. "It is now your turn, Hyuga-san."

"Number three."

Asahina revealed utensil no. 3: A soup ladle.

Hinata was shocked at the soup ladle's appearance. "Eh? You're going to give me that much coffee?"

"Do you love coffee, Hinata-san?" asked Tai.

"I enjoy the occasional cup, but this is too much!" Hinata replied.

Using the soup ladle, Asahina gave a very generous scoop of instant coffee into Hinata's cup. "It's too much!" Hinata looked at Ash. "Satoshi-kun, couldn't you at least take some coffee off me?"

Ash rubbed his chin. "Well..."

"Are you willing to take some of Hinata's coffee?" Konata grinned.

Ash paused for a few seconds. He then looked at Hinata. "You do enjoy coffee, don't you, Hinata?"

**[Hinata Betrayed]**

As Hinata received her cup, Ash immediately took the cup and poured some of the coffee powder into his cup.

"Oh look," Tai mumbled. "The King of 'Friend Zones' is at it again!"

**[Ash Ketchum: The Friend Zone King]**

Ash looked at Tai. "Hey, I'm just being a gentleman here!"

"Hypocrite," mumbled Keitaro.

It's Syaoran's turn to be served by Asahina.

"I recommend that you pick number 3," Konata suggested.

"Alright, number three!" Syaoran yelled out.

Asahina reveals the utensil: A wooden rice scoop.

"Oh come on!"

"Edward-san, what is your choice?" asked Asahina.

"Number four," said Ed.

Asahina reveals the utensil and made a generous scoop of coffee powder into the cup. "It's a popcorn scoop."

Ed pulled out the voucher he won earlier. "I'm using my Ash Ketchum voucher right now!"

Ash groaned. Why did it have to be now?

"Good idea," said Tai as he took switched Ash's cup with Ed's cup, giving Ash more coffee than he originally had.

"Naruto-san, what is your choice?" Asahina asked.

"Number 1." Naruto answered.

Asahina reveals the utensil. "Congratulations. It's a large flour sifter."

Asahina scooped up the coffee from the bowl. However, not a single fragment of coffee powder was sifted out, giving Naruto a very full cup of instant coffee powder.

Naruto was horrified at the amount of coffee filling his cup. "There's not even enough space to fill it with hot water!"

Asahina smiled as she poured away a small portion of the coffee powder, still leaving an enormous amount in Naruto's cup.

"Did P-I-C Suzumiya _(*Note: He means __**Producer-in-Charge Haruhi Suzumiya**_) have a hand in this?" Syaoran asked.

Asahina looked at Team Ash as she held out a spoon in one hand and a very tiny spoon in the other. "Miss Suzumiya did have a hand in the planning, but she suggested that we should offer a chance to remove some of the coffee. You can remove one scoop of coffee using either a tablespoon or the ear pick."

Asahina stood in front of Ash and held the two utensils behind her back. "Pick a hand."

"How about choosing right," Keitaro suggested.

"I choose left," said Ash.

Asahina revealed her left hand, revealing the ear pick that Asahina used to scoop up a pathetic fragment of instant coffee from Ash's cup. Ash could only do a facepalm at his bad luck.

"You should have followed my suggestion," Keitaro gloated.

Tai grinned. "He won't be able to make it."

Asahina hid the utensils behind her back and randomly moved the utensils around for Hinata to make her choice. "What is your choice?"

"I choose the right hand!" Hinata called out.

Asahina revealed her right hand holding the ear pick and scooped up a very tiny amount of coffee from Hinata's cup, causing Hinata to cover her face in embarrassment.

Next it's Syaoran's turn. "I choose left!"

Asahina revealed the ear pick and scooped a miniscule portion of coffee from Syaoran cup. "Are you kidding me?!"

Next is Ed's choice. "I think I'll put my faith in someone else's hands."

"Pick the left hand," Konata suggested.

"Left it is," said Ed.

Asahina revealed her left hand, holding the ear pick to scoop up a microscopic amount from Ed's cup, causing Ed's jaw to drop.

Naruto looked at his almost-full cup of coffee as Asahina stood in front of Naruto. "I don't think a scoop from either spoon would make a difference here."

"Well, one scoop is better than none at all, Naruto-kun," reassured Hinata.

Naruto sighed. "I guess you're right, Hinata.." Naruto looked at Asahina. "I pick the left!"

Asahina revealed her left hand, holding the ear pick which barely scooped anything from Naruto's cup. "We're victims here!" screamed Naruto.

**[Team Ash's new name: Team Victim]**

* * *

**[After Game Tea Time Rules: After ingredients have been added, add hot water to fill your cup. The first team to finish the contents of their cups wins one lottery ball.]**

Both teams had their hot coffee filled in their cups as Konata and Naruto were holding their cups, ready to begin. "We'll begin at the count of three. One, two, three!

Naruto and Konata began to drink the hot coffee.

"What's it like?" asked Syaoran.

"It's like drinking very bitter lava!" screamed Naruto in between small gulps.

"Start stirring to cool down your drinks!" Tai suggested.

The other team members began to stir their coffee while Konata and Naruto raced to consume their hot drinks.

Konata managed to endure the heat, finishing her drink first, allowing Yui to start drinking. However, as the coffee touched Yui's lips, Yui's eyes began to tear up. "It's still too hot."

"Just bear with it!" yelled Keitaro.

At the same time, Naruto managed to finish his coffee, allowing Ed to start drinking. However, as Ed tries to swallow the hot liquid, he almost spat it back into his cup.

"We know you can do it, Ed!" yelled Syaoran. "You're the master at pain endurance!"

Ed endured the heat while Yui began to endure the heat from the drink as she tries to keep herself ahead of Ed. Then, Yui began to walk toward Ed as he was catching his breath and poured a bit of coffee into Ed's cup, taking advantage of Ed's pain endurance.

"What the hell?!"

Yui quickly snuck back to her seat and finished the remainder of her coffee. "I'm done!"

Kari began to drink her coffee just as Ed managed to finish despite the extra amount given to him by Yui, enabling Syaoran to begin drinking his coffee.

"It's too hot," said Kari as she tries to sip her coffee.

"Well, I find it too bitter," Syaoran retorted.

Kari managed to finish her coffee ahead of Syaoran, allowing Keitaro to begin. As Keitaro took a big gulp from his cup, he quickly stopped and took a deep breath. That gave Syaoran time to quickly finish his coffee as Hinata began to drink her coffee.

"It shouldn't be a problem for Hinata. She managed to down 46 bowls of Ramen in 30 minutes," said Naruto.

Hinata managed to quickly finish her hot coffee quickly just as Keitaro was barely two thirds through his coffee.

Ash calmly began to drink his coffee like a normal person as Keitaro subtly poured the remainder of his coffee into Tai's cup. "I leave the rest to you," said Keitaro.

As Tai took a sip of coffee, the bitterness kicked in, but before Tai could lower his cup, his teammates mercilessly kept the cup near Tai's mouth.

Ash continued to drink his coffee in a relaxed manner, before Kari decided to put her finger on Ash's cup, trying to obstruct him from drinking his coffee.

Ash glared at Kari. Like brother, like sister. But Kari's obstruction managed to buy Tai enough time to consume the remainder of his coffee in one gulp, with unwanted assistance by Keitaro as he forced the remainder down Tai's throat.

As Tai's teammates celebrate their victory with their lottery ball, Tai collapsed in his chair, losing complete sense of reality because of the bitterness. "Who finished my coffee? I don't even remember drinking it!"

* * *

Team Ash and Team Tai were at the entrance to the Mahora Library with Ash and Tai standing in front of a lottery machine. "It's now time to determine the winners and losers through the lottery!" Tai announced.

Ash nodded. "Before we begin, let's agree on tonight's penalty: The Losing team will be cosplaying in maid uniforms while going to a convenience store and eating some cup ramen outside the store."

"That's right. And now it's time for us to put our faith in Lady Luck."

**[Team Tai: Three Blue Lottery balls. Team Ash: Two Red Lottery Balls.]**

Both teams placed their lottery balls in the lottery machine filled along with a bunch of white lottery balls.

Tai started up the lottery machine. "Alright, the first colored ball that the lottery machine reveals will determine which team wins."

"Come on, red," chanted Ed.

"Blue, blue, blue," Keitaro silently mumbled.

A red ball exits the lottery machine, allowing Team Ash to beat the odds and escape the penalty. As Team Ash celebrated the win, Konata quickly joined the victorious team, celebrating the fact that they will not be punished _(since Konata won her punishment immunity voucher at the auction)_.

Tai, Keitaro, Kari and Yui could only stare in disbelief. They cannot escape their fate of going through a penalty suggested by their teammate who happened to win immunity.

* * *

**[The Embarassment of Team Tai]**

Four characters exited the Mahora Library wearing maid uniforms as Konata, Ash and Syaoran followed as 'moral support'.

"Hope you guys enjoy your punishment," said Syaoran.

"Easy for you to say," said Tai. "You're not the ones going through the penalty. And since it's after midnight, I don't think it would get any worse than what we went through last time."

Tai, Keitaro, Yui and Kari boarded an SUV that drove them to their destination: A 24-hour convenience store in the middle of Akihabara and even though it's after midnight, there's still the regular citizens and Otakus roaming around as they were greeted by the arrival of four anime characters in maid uniforms, two of them being embarrassed males.

A huge crowd gathered outside the convenience store as the group of four purchased their instant cup ramen and cooked the noodles.

Tai grumbled. "This is the most embarrassing few minutes of my life."

"Well, at least this is a bit less awkward than the Miku outfit we wore last time," Keitaro commented.

Once the ramen was ready, the punished stood outside the convenience store to begin their penalty.

"Itadakimasu!" The quartet began to eat their Cup Ramen outside the convenience store as a crowd of people watched and recorded the scene on their phone cameras. Out of embarrassment, Tai and Keitaro tried to rush through their ramen.

Despite their increased pace, Yui managed to finish her Ramen first. "Finished!" Yui put the empty cup onto the floor. "Thank you for watching us."

**[Yui: First to complete the penalty]**

Keitaro finished his Ramen next and stacked the empty cup in Yui's cup. "I'm done as well. Thank you for watching us."

**[Keitaro: Second to complete the penalty]**

Both Yui and Keitaro left the scene, leaving behind the Yagami/Kamiya siblings who were still eating their cup ramen. The younger sister finished her cup ramen ahead of her brother.

"I'm done! I'll be heading home now, Onii-san!" Kari stacked her empty cup among the others and walked off, leaving her brother alone with the crowd in front of the convenience store.

**[Kari: Third to complete the penalty]**

All that's left was a lonely Tai wearing a maid costume in the middle of Akihabara eating instant cup ramen while being watched by a crowd in front of a convenience store. Tai quickly consumed the remainder of his ramen. "That's it. I'm done, folks! I hope you see you guys next time in much better circumstances."

**[Tai: Last to complete the penalty]**

Tai picked up the other empty cups and thoughtfully disposed them into a bin before heading home.

* * *

**[**Coming up next on **Project V: Search for the Next Vocaloid**, how will 12 new contestants fare as they live in the same building while competing for a chance to be the voice Crypton's new Vocaloid?**]**


	3. 02: Disarming the bomb at Big Sight

**A PikaFlash's World 2013 project**

**The Anime Games: An Urban Action Variety Fanfic**

_A Team PikaFlash Fanfic, working on Fanfics for 12 Years_

**[Produced by the SOS Brigade]**

Disclaimers: All characters, Animes, Manga, Games and miscellaneous series mentioned or appearing in this fanfic belong to their respective owners. This fanfic is simply a medium to express ideas.

* * *

**[One Hour before the official start of the chapter…]**

At a non-descript café in Odaiba, Ed, Tai, Ash and Yui were sitting at a table.

"Why we're being call here early, Sempai?" asked Yui.

"It's an idea that Megane-sempai suggested to the producers," Tai replied. "And speak of the devil..."

Keitaro entered the café along with Konata and Hinata as they joined the occupied table. Producer Koizumi informed the characters on the situation.

"I've talked to Miss Suzumiya and she agreed with Mr. Urashima's idea. As you all noticed right now, Mr. Li isn't here with us."

Yui looked around the café. "Oh, you're right. I don't see Syaoran-sempai."

"This episode, we decided to change the rules. Instead of teams, it would be individual players winning lottery balls," Koizumi explained. "The seven of you are going to play a trick on Mr. Li in a game of **1 Vs. Many**. In this game, Mr. Li is the '**1**' or in the case of this game, the **Reverse Mole**, where he is completely unaware of the secret task while competing with other players in a fake game. If the other players succeed in their secret task, everyone except Mr. Li will win a lottery ball. However, players fail in their secret task, only Mr. Li will win a lottery ball."

"Its individual battles now, eh?" Ed rubbed his chin. "I think that could make it a bit more competitive when we play the game.

Koizumi continued. "Currently, Mr. Li is at a fake interview about his roles in Card Captor Sakura and Tsubasa."

* * *

Meanwhile at the Main Office in the Mahora Library, Syaoran was at the (fake) TV interview with interviewer Kazumi Asakura and a cameraman.

"Hello, I'm Li Syaoran and this is my first time on this TV show. It's nice to meet you all."

* * *

Back at the café, Koizumi explained the game. "After the interview ends, the first game we will be playing is a fake Q&A game using questions based on Japanese Anime and Western Animation. So, in this Game, all seven of you must answer seven questions correctly to win your lottery balls. However, if Mr. Li correctly answers a single question, only he will win a lottery ball. Here are the questions we are planning to use for the game."

Koizumi passed around the list of questions. "We can't tell you right now which specific questions will be asked during the actual quiz but I can guarantee that this list will contain the questions to be used, but it should be enough for you to study and learn the answers long before they will be asked."

**[However, there is a slight problem...]**

Both Konata and Yui groaned. "We don't want to study!"

"I haven't studied anything in years," Keitaro added.

Ash looked at one of the questions. "Let's give this one a try: _What is the proper name of the temporary structure used outdoors at Sporting Events and School Festivals commonly seen in Anime?_"

Everyone else was completely blank, with no clue to the answer.

Konata decided to take a shot at the answer. "Partition?"

"Container?" suggested Yui.

**[Correction: Two 'slight' problems...]**

"Where exactly would you find an outdoor container at a school festival?" asked Tai.

Ash looked at the answer. "The answer is 'Kiosk'."

"Oh, so that what they call those things," said Yui. "I just call them stalls."

"What does that have to do with Anime?" asked Konata. "All it's asking about are the Kiosks used at school festivals that we normal seen on any Anime taking place at school."

"But if we managed to correctly answer one of the difficult questions too easily, Syaoran-kun might get suspicious," said Hinata.

**[Make that three...]**

Koizumi made a suggestion. "How about this, we will ask the 'Kiosk' question first and once Mr. Yagami correctly answers it, act like nothing is wrong and be the MC by asking the questions from that point on."

"However, I think some of us will be tempted at the only question we know that is going to be asked," said Ed.

**[Yep, another problem...]**

Ash nodded. "And Keitaro will snipe the answer and be in charge. Anyway, instead of trying to focus on memorizing all of the answers, how about three of us focus on half of the questions and the other three focus on the other half so that it's easier to remember."

Yui nodded. "Good idea, Sempai."

Meanwhile, Konata wrote a few of the answers on the palm of her hand and Keitaro noticed it.

"I didn't think you would be the type to cheat, Konata," said Keitaro. "I thought you specialize in last-minute studying?"

"Well, normally I would to do it the night before, not an hour before," Konata replied.

Yui raised her hand. "Speaking of Konata-sempai, there is a rumor I heard from a friend of mine who lives in Saitama. When he was in middle school, Konata-Sempai stole some money from him. For every 100 yen she finds, she'll slap him in the arm once."

**[Incriminator Yui strikes again!]**

The gang laughed at Yui's statement as Konata frowned in embarrassment.

"We need to remember that if Syaoran manages to answer even one question, we're doomed," said Tai.

"Oh, I forgot to mention," Koizumi added. "If you manage to correctly answer a question, then you are free to leave the game."

"Then that's a problem," said Tai. "If somehow all three who managed to answer their questions correctly have memorized their half of the questions leave the game and one of their questions get asked, how will the other three who memorized the other half of the questions know the correct answer?"

Ash quickly realized the flaw. "You're right. If that's the case, just study as much as you can once you memorize your half of the questions."

Konata looked at her watch. "We better do it quick because Syaoran-sempai is going to finish his interview."

The characters proceed to frantically study the questions while back in Mahora, Syaoran had concluded his fake interview before catching a taxi to Odaiba.

* * *

**[02: Not an Ordinary Game V2 - Convention Center, Ariake]**

The eight Anime Characters stood outside the Tokyo Big Sight convention center in Ariake as Tai began the introduction. "Welcome to today's episode of The Anime Games! We are currently at the famous Tokyo Big Sight, where most Anime and Manga fans around the world would know as the home of Comiket. However, just for today, the entire convention center will be our playground!"

Everyone cheered.

"I'm sure all of us would remember that the last time all of us were here, we actually did the pilot for the fanfic," Tai explained.

"Yeah, it was a bit of a rough start, with us barely able to know what we were doing," Keitaro said. "But I think we should be able to find our footing this time."

"Of course, I hope that my team will win this rematch," said Tai.

"I won't go easy on you, Tai. I like to keep my winning streak," said Ash.

Konata looked at the entrance. "Come on, guys. Let's go in!"

As everyone walked into the convention center, only Syaoran is completely unaware of the deception ahead of him.

* * *

The characters were sitting on chairs in the Entrance Plaza as Tai revealed the changes to the game format. "Everyone, I've been told by the producers that there has been a change in the game format. Instead of team lottery balls, everyone is playing for individual lottery balls."

Everyone else feigned surprise except for Syaoran, who was genuinely surprised. "Really?" asked Syaoran.

Tai nodded. "Yep, that means that if your name doesn't come out during the lottery, then you have no choice but to accept the penalty, even if your team wins any of the games."

Tai sighed as he looked at Ash. "I don't think this is going to work." _(Playing a prank on Syaoran)_

Ash sent a look at Tai. _'Don't ruin it.'_

Producer Koizumi began the first game. "Since we are at the Tokyo Big Sight, we decided that our first game is an **Animation Q&A game**. All you have to do is answer seven questions related to both Japanese and Western Animation."

"I think Konata has no problems with the Anime questions, but we might have problems with the Western ones," Syaoran said.

"That's true," said Ed.

"Also, all you need to do is answer one question to be able to leave the game and earn a Lottery ball. To answer, you must raise your hand and call out your name before you give your answer."

Keitaro was confident. "Well, as long as we have Yui here, I don't think I'll lose."

Koizumi began the quiz. "Anyway, here is the first question: _What is the proper name of the temporary structure used outdoors at Sporting Events and School Festivals commonly seen in Anime?_"

Keitaro immediately raised his hand. "Keitaro!"

Tai looked at Keitaro. _'Hang on. I thought I'm supposed to answer the first question. You don't intend to betray me, Megane-sempai?'_

"Booth," Keitaro answered, causing Tai to breathe a sigh of relief as the answer was wrong.

"Incorrect," said Koizumi.

Konata scratched her head. "But what does this question have to do with Anime or Western Animation in general?"

Ed raised his hand. "Edward! I think the answer is _Partition_!" **(Wrong!)**

Yui suddenly raised her hand. "Yui! How about _Container_?" **(Wrong!)**

"You guys love sprouting out random answers," Ash sarcastically said.

"Tai!" Tai raised his hand. "_Kiosk_?"

"That is correct, Mr. Yagami," said Koizumi.

Tai smirked at the others. "So long, suckers!"

Just as Tai tried to walk to the side, Koizumi stopped him. "Mr. Yagami, since you're the first to answer correctly, you will now be asking the remaining questions."

"By the way, what is the difficulty of these questions?" Ed asked.

"These are questions a normal person can answer," Koizumi explained.

"A 'normal person'?" Keitaro gave a dubious look at the producer. "In case you have forgotten, there's an Otaku and a ditz with us, so I doubt they could even answer these questions correctly."

**[Of course, everyone except for Syaoran knew the answers to the questions.]**

"Here's the next question," said Tai. "Various Sword styles are very well known in various Anime. For example, One Piece's Roronoa Zoro uses three swords while Card Captor Sakura's Li Syaoran uses magic with his sword. Who is the current successor to the Shinmei-Ryu sword style?"

Keitaro racked his brains. "That name sounds familiar."

Ash raised his hand. "Ash! I think..."

* * *

**[Flashback: One Hour Earlier]**

The group of seven were discussing about the question.

"Shinmei-Ryu sword style? Isn't that your tenant's fighting style that is commonly used to send you flying, Keitaro-sempai?" asked Ash.

"Don't remind me," said Keitaro.

"But this is a question that Megane-sempai can answer easily," Konata pointed out. "I'm sure Syaoran-sempai wouldn't get suspicious over that."

"Still, just to play it safe, I'll take this question if it pops up," said Ash. "Then, I should be able to sneak you guys answers on Western animations if they pop up."

**[End Flashback]**

* * *

"I think...the answer is Motoko!" answered Ash.

"Motoko is correct!" said Tai. "However, I do need the full name. I give you five seconds."

(5, 4, 3...)

Ash tries to recall the name. "It's..." (He knows the answer, but he's pretending that it slipped his mind in order to trick Syaoran.)

(2, 1...)

"_Motoko Aoyoma_!" Ash called out.

Tai nodded. "Correct!"

Ash managed to get himself out of answering the questions. Two down and five more to go.

"I thought you would have been able to answer that question, Megane-sempai, since the answer is Motoko."

Keitaro merely shrugged. "Ash just beat me to the answer."

"And Syaoran, since you were mentioned, I thought you would have known the answer as well," Tai commented.

Syaoran frowned. "Just because my name is mentioned doesn't mean I should know the answer."

"Yeah, you're right," said Tai and everyone laughed, although Syaoran laughed thinking it was a joke by Tai, not aware that everyone is laughing _**at **_Syaoran's naivety.

"Just to make sure everyone is confident enough to be able to answer questions, let's have everyone call out their names."

"Hinata!"

"Ed!"

"Syaoran!"

"Konata!"

"Keitaro!"

"Yui!"

"And backwards!" Tai called out.

"Yui!"

"Keitaro!"

"Konata!"

"Syaoran!"

"Ed!"

"Hinata!"

Tai began the next question. "Next question: _In the American Animated Series: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, the main characters are named after artists_..."

"Oh, I know this one," said Syaoran.

**[Uh oh...]**

* * *

**[Flashback]**

Tai rubbed his chin. "Syaoran is from Hong Kong, so he might be able to know the Ninja Turtle question."

**[End Flashback]**

* * *

In a panic, Hinata raised her hand. "Raffle Ticket!"

"Wrong! I haven't finished the question yet, Hinata-san. _The Main characters are named after artists: Leonardo..._"

"Dicaprio!" Hinata yelled out while in her panicked mind.

"Calm down and breathe, Hinata," said Ash.

Tai ignored the outburst. "Michelangelo, Raphael. Who's the fourth Ninja Turtle?"

"I've seen the series before, but it was dubbed, so I'm not too clear on their names," said Syaoran.

Yui had tears in her eyes. "I haven't studied anything, because being in this fanfic is more important than studying!"

**[The only thing you had to study for is the answers to the questions that may be asked.]**

Ed raised his hand. "Edward Elric! The answer is _Donatello_!"

"That is correct! How do you know, Ed?" asked Tai.

"For those who have seen or read Fullmetal Alchemist, you should know that I'm a patron for the arts. I appreciate artists like Donatello and Nickangelo."

"Michelangelo," Ash corrected Ed.

"Whatever."

"So, which one is Donatello?" asked Tai.

Ed was speechless.

"Isn't he the one with the Sais?" said Syaoran.

"Of course," said Ed. "That's the one."

**[No, Donatello's the one with the Bo staff.]**

"Either way, Ed is free from answering any more questions!" Tai announced.

**[Three down, Four to go!]**

Keitaro had a worried look at Yui. '_The biggest concern we need to worry about is Yui. If she manages to answer a question correctly, Syaoran might get suspicious.'_

Tai simply continued the quiz. "Next question_: In Ouran High School Host Club, what is the family name of the character who is a highly skilled martial artist who loves cake and sweet things?_"

Syaoran raised his hand. "I know this one! Syaoran!"

Almost everyone froze as Syaoran attempted to answer the question.

"Honey-dukes!" answered Syaoran.

Tai shook his head while subtly breathing a sigh of relief. "Incorrect!"

Syaoran quickly realized his mistake. "Oh wait, that was from Harry Potter."

Keitaro raised his hand. "Keitaro! Honey-zuka!"

"Incorrect!"

"Yui! _Hirasawa_!"

**[Yui's a highly skilled martial artist in Ouran?]**

"Incorrect!"

Yui sat back down on her chair in disappointment.

Ash sent a look at Yui. "Close, but you're not a member of the Host Club in high school, were you?"

"It was the Light Music Club, Sempai," Yui replied.

Hinata suddenly raised her hand. "Hinata! It's _Haninozuka_!"

Tai looked at the question card. "Is that _**Haninozuka **_or _**Honey-no-zuka**_?"

Hinata walked up to Tai and grabbed him by the collar with a look on her face reading, _'Are you trying to sabotage us, Taichi-kun?'_

"Konata! It's _Haninozuka_!"

Hinata looked at Konata. "Are you trying to copy me?"

"I just want to get out," Konata replied.

Despite the gags happening, Syaoran was completely unaware of the stress the other characters have trying to give the correct answers ahead of him.

"Let's try this again. Hinata! Hani..."

Konata immediately interrupted Hinata and finished her answer. "-no-zuka!"

Hinata ignored Konata and repeated her answer, "_Haninozuka_."

"Hinata, you are correct! You're free to go!"

Hinata cheered as she joined the others who answered their questions.

**[Hinata is now safe. Three more to go!] **

"Still, it's such a pity, Syaoran," Tai said. "You were quite close. Anyway, here comes the next question:"

"_Hinata Hyuga has managed to earn Naruto Uzumaki's respect and she believed that he has expectations of her, enabling her to work harder in a positive direction to avoid disappointment._" Tai paused. "That's just sounds like an interesting plot for a NaruHina fanfic. Anyway, I'll continue: _What is the effect that is responsible for Miss Hinata's mindset?_"

Yui immediately raised her hand. "Yui!"

Yui stood up, only for her mind to become blank. "Eh, the answer fell out of my head when I stood up. I'm sorry."

"Well, time's up. Sit back down," said Tai.

* * *

**[Flashback]**

Ash was reading up a question that happened to come up with an uncommon answer.

"Well here's another question that only slapped on an Anime character in it just to make it fit the category. Anyway, what is the Pygmalion Effect?"

"The Pygmalion Effect is the state of someone becoming more hardworking due to high expectations," Keitaro explained.

Konata nodded. "With an explanation like that, and how it sometimes applies to characters who emphasize on hard work in some Anime I've watched, so I guess that's relevant. Even the question specifically uses Hinata-sempai as an example."

"But remember, if Syaoran manages to guess the answer to this one, its game over," warned Tai.

**[End Flashback]**

* * *

Back in the present, Keitaro raised his hand. "Keitaro! Is it the _Pygmy Effect_?"

"Incorrect!" said Tai.

"Yui!" Yui stood up. "Is it_ Pygmalion_?"

Tai looked at the answer. Suddenly, Syaoran raised his hand. "Syaoran! _It's Pygmalion effect_!"

Everyone froze as they remembered Tai's warning. Syaoran had given the correct answer to the question.

Suddenly, Yui spoke up. "I'm sorry, Syaoran-Sempai, but I haven't finished answering the question. Is it _Pygmalion effect_?"

Syaoran's jaw dropped.

**[Yui's Interception saves the day]**

Tai grinned. "I'm sorry, Syaoran, but I didn't even say Yui was incorrect before you answered, so technically, she's still answering the question. Either way, Pygmalion Effect is the correct answer! Yui, you're safe!"

Yui jumped up in celebration before joining the other characters, leaving Konata, Keitaro and Syaoran.

"Excuse me, Yui, how exactly do you know about the Pygmalion effect?"

Yui began to stutter. "W-w-well, you see...I am normally concerned about these kinds of things as a musician when I'm in Hokago Tea Time and observing my teacher and mentor, Sawa-chan."

"Well, that makes sense," said Tai. "But would you care to explain to me about the Pygmalion Effect?"

Yui was struggling to come up with an excuse. "Well... I think Sawa-Chan explained it to me. Or was it Azy-Nyan? I forgot now. But I somehow know that this is important because I am studying to be a teacher."

**[Wait, didn't you make a comment earlier that being in this fanfic is more important than studying?]**

Ash sent a glare at Tai but Tai ignored it. "Ed, what was your answer?"

"Bonatello!" Ed replied.

"What?"

Ed laughed. "I was kidding. It's Donatello!"

"And what was your correct answer, Hinata-san?" asked Tai.

Hinata could only giggle. _'Why are you torturing us, Taichi-san?'_

"Haninozuka," said Hinata.

"And what about you Ash?"

Ash's response was a furious gesture and glare telling Tai to _'GET ON WITH IT!'_ , causing everyone else to laugh, though Syaoran is only laughing because he finds the reactions unbelievably hilarious. However, wait until he finds out that the joke's on him...

Tai calmed down. "Anyway, moving on to the next question:"

"Good luck, everyone," Hinata said to the remaining three characters as Ed gave the thumbs up.

"_This American Cartoon series is known for having kids saving the world from evil adult tyranny. Known to fans as Codename: KND, what does KND stand for?_"

Konata stood up. "Konata! It's Kids..."

"You have five seconds," Tai reminded Konata.

"Kids..."

"Three, two, one..."

"_Kids Next Door_!" Konata hastily answered.

Silence.

"KND stands for _Kids Next Door_," said Konata.

"That was what came to my mind," said Syaoran.

"I thought KND stood for _Ken and Davis _**[from Digimon 02]**," Keitaro said.

"But I thought KND stood for _Kurama Naruto Daisuke_," said Ed, completely butting into the conversation.

**[…]**

Tai simply continued. "It doesn't matter what KND means now because Konata is correct!"

Konata smiled as she joined the other characters, leaving behind only Keitaro and Syaoran with one final question that will determine victory or defeat for the majority of the characters.

"Alright, let's do this!" Keitaro said, psyching himself up for the final challenge.

"Of course! I'm pumped as well," Syaoran said, still unaware of what's going on.

"Here's the final question: In San Diego, California, this event originally began in the 70s but has become a very significant and recognizable event that is similar to Comiket here in Tokyo. This event is used by various entertainment companies to promote and make announcements on upcoming American TV Shows, Animations, Comics and Films, not to mention Anime and Manga to be licensed and localized. Currently, this event is held in July for four days, what is the name of this event?"

"I think I have an idea what this event is," said Syaoran. "After all, it's similar to Comiket..."

**[Well, that's not good...]**

* * *

**[Flashback]**

At the café, Ash was skimming through the list for questions that Syaoran may not know the answers to.

"I think we shouldn't worry about the Comic-Con question. I doubt that Syaoran would even know what Comic-Con is," Ash said to the others.

"But what if Syaoran does know?" asked Tai.

"I mean, we're going to be at the Big Sight where Comiket is normally held," Ash exdplained. "I doubt that Syaoran would even make that connection if that question is asked, especially when it's based on an event all the way in San Diego, California?"

"But this is a fanfic and he could make that connection," said Konata.

**[End Flashback]**

* * *

"I think its _San Diego Comiket_," said Syaoran. "But I might be wrong."

**[Phew!]**

Keitaro knew that this is the one chance he can get win the game. "Keitaro! Is it the _San Diego Comic-Con_?"

This is the moment that seven characters have been waiting for. "_San Diego Comic-Con? Is that your final answer?_" asked Tai.

Everyone else held their breath. "Mr. Keitaro Urashima... you are correct!"

Keitaro dropped onto his knees from the suspense. "YES! We did it!"

**[1 Vs. Many Battle: Prank on Syaoran: Success!]**

Everyone began to celebrate, except for Syaoran, who could only sigh at his bad luck.

Tai resumed his hosting duties. "As a result of this game, with Syaoran coming in last, everyone except for Syaoran will win a lottery ball!"

Hinata collected the lottery balls from the producers and distributed them among the other characters. "Syaoran-kun, despite the circumstances, I think you did great."

"What are you talking about, Hinata? I barely had any idea how to answer these questions given to us," said Syaoran.

"Good point. How did you know the answer, Keitaro-sempai?" asked Tai.

"Well, that was easy. I saw it in the script," Keitaro replied

Syaoran looked at Keitaro in confusion. _'Script?'_

"I knew my answer because it was in the palm of my hand," Konata added, showing Syaoran her hand.

"What's going on?" asked a confused Syaoran.

"All of us, except for you knew the answers to the questions," Tai explained. "But most importantly, you had an interview back at Mahora, right?"

"That's right," said Syaoran.

"That was a fake interview," Tai said. "We were using the time to memorize the questions."

Syaoran could only stare in disbelief as the truth finally hit him. In the end, it was Syaoran's loss against the other seven characters.

Syaoran sighed as he did a facepalm. "I can't believe that I actually got tricked by the four kouhais **(Hinata, Ed, Konata and Yui)**."

"So, thinking back, what do you think would have given us away?" asked Ed.

"Well, I think the Pygmalion question would have given it away if Yui hadn't made up some excuse about wanting to be a teacher."

"But Syaoran-sempai, I really am studying to be a teacher," said Yui.

Syaoran sighed. "Well, that goes to show how much I know about the kouhais."

"Either way, everyone except for Syaoran wins a lottery ball!" Tai announced.

* * *

Everyone relocated themselves to the West Exhibition Hall as each character sat together at a group of tables put together for the next game.

Tai looked at the camera. "In case everyone has just joined us, because Syaoran didn't answer any questions during the first game, only he was unable to win a Lottery Ball."

Hinata yawned. "Are you tired, Hinata?" asked Ash.

"Yeah, there were too many questions that I couldn't get my head around," said Hinata

Tai smirked. "Really? Was it Haninozuka or Honey-no-zuka?"

"Haninozuka," Hinata answered.

Tai looked at Konata. "What about you, Konata?"

"Kids Next Door," Konata replied.

"And Yui?"

"Pygamalion," Yui replied without hesitation.

"But to be honest, I say that this group is blending together quite nicely," said Keitaro. "We've managed to learn a few new things, including how much Ash likes to be in charge and how much of an incriminator Yui is capable of becoming."

"Speaking of which, Yui, have you heard any new rumors?" Tai asked.

"Of course," Yui said. "I heard from a lot of people that one time, a Sempai I know bought a bag with games from Gamers and Konata-Sempai said she exchanged bags with my Sempai and somehow the bag got stolen."

Konata could only hide her face with her hands as she lay her head on the desk to hide her embarrassment.

**[Incriminator Yui's Accusation: Game Thief Konata]**

Tai nodded. "Anyway, time for the Second Mission: **Catch the Thief**."

* * *

_**Rules: **__In __**Catch the Thief**__, each player will receive a card and one of the cards is marked as the 'Thief'. The object of the game is not to have the 'Thief' card in your hand. During each round, each player must exchange cards with the player next to them. When each round ends, mini-games will be played to and the winners will be exempt from playing __**Catch the Thief**__ and give their card to another player of their choice. After the second mini-game, the seating arrangement can be mixed up among the remaining players. Then, the remaining players must reveal their cards and the holder of the 'Thief' card loses._

* * *

The players sitting from left to right were Yui, Ed, Konata, Keitaro, Tai, Ash, Hinata and Syaoran. As the cards were shuffled and distributed among the eight players, each player looked at their card, carefully not revealing what it is to the other players. As Tai looked at his card, the first thing he saw on his card was the word **'Thief'**.

Tai maintained a straight face as he looked at the other players.

"There's a saying that goes _'Life consists not in holding good cards but in playing those you hold well.',_ though it would make more sense if we were playing 'Yu-Gi-Oh!' instead," said Konata.

"I have a saying of my own: _'If the strawberry falls off the cake, you can eat it'_," said Yui.

Ash sends an annoyed look at Yui. "What does cake have to do with the current game we're playing?"

"It's possible that Yui-san has a really good poker face if she has the 'Thief' card in her hand," said Hinata.

The real holder of the 'Thief' card nodded in agreement as Tai nervously laughed. "You could be right, Hinata. So, shall we begin the game?"

The game began as Syaoran handed over his only card to Hinata. Hinata checked the card she received from Syaoran and was relieved that it wasn't the **'Thief'**. Now with two cards in her hand, Hinata turned towards Ash and allowed him to pick one of the two cards. Ash calmly picked a card and looked at what he picked. Then, Ash looked at Tai as he raised his two cards in front of Tai.

"I hope luck's on your side, Tai," said Ash, waving his cards in front of Tai.

"I think the **'Thief'** is in Ash's hand," deduced Keitaro.

"I don't need luck to decide which card I should take, Ash." Tai simply took one of the cards off Ash without hesitation, since the **'Thief'** card is in his hand anyway. It was now Keitaro's turn to pick as Tai prepares to take the opportunity to get rid of the dreaded 'Thief' card. Tai slowly looked at Keitaro, with each of his hands holding a card.

"Tai, I'm your Sempai, right? Is the **'Thief'** in your hand?" Keitaro asked.

"Yes, the **'Thief' **is in my hand," replied Tai.

Keitaro felt a bit of unease by Tai's straightforward answer. Keitaro slowly reached for the card in Tai's left hand. "I could take this card..."

As Keitaro reached for the card (which happened to be the **'Thief'** card), Tai held his breath in anticipation.

"...but I think I'll take this one instead." Keitaro immediately took the card from Tai's right hand instead, which turns out not to be the **'Thief' **card.

Tai forced a smile, hiding the despair he's feeling because Keitaro did not take the 'Thief' card off him.

Now it's Konata's turn to choose from Keitaro's two cards.

Keitaro points at one of the cards in his hand. "I recommend taking this card!"

Tai groaned. "Do you really have to make it meaningless, Megane-sempai? If this fanfic gets axed, it's your fault!"

The outcome of the remaining choices didn't matter as the **'Thief'** card remained in Tai's possession.

* * *

The first round ended after every player had exchanged their cards. Now, the players prepare to play the first mini-game as they received their instructions.

Tai read out the instructions. "In the first mini-game: The player must call out a number from 0 to 8 and the players may raise their hand. If the number of hands raised matches the number called out, the player will win and be exempt from playing **Catch the Thief **and hand over his card to another player. For this game, there will be two exemptions up for grabs. We'll start from Syaoran."

Syaoran suddenly yelled out, "Two!"

Only one hand was raised as the number was called out. "Well, I thought I should raise my hand anyway," said Yui.

"Five!" Hinata yelled out as she raised her hand. Only Yui and Ash raised their hands.

"Eight!" Ash yelled as he raised his hand. No one else raised their hands.

Tai smirked. "Nice solo performance, Ash."

Ash glared back. "It's your turn anyway, you egotistical maniac."

Tai ignored the insult as he calmly assessed the situation. _'This is the perfect opportunity for me to get rid of the "Thief" card, give it to Ash and get out of the game.'_

"Zero!" yelled Tai without raising his hand. At the same time, Yui happened to raise her hand, unintentionally thwarting Tai's master plan. Tai slammed his head on the meeting table in frustration. "I should have seen this coming..."

It is now Keitaro's turn. "Three!"

Keitaro, Hinata and Yui raised their hands, making the exact number of hands needed to win the mini-game. "Yes, I got it!"

With one more exemption up for grabs, the game continued with Konata's turn.

"Two!" yelled Konata, but no one raised their hand.

"Four!" yelled Ed as he raised his hand. No one else raised their hands.

It's now Yui's turn. All she had to do is pick a number between zero and eight.

"Three!" Yui yelled out at the top of her voice as she raised her hand. Hinata raised her hand while Ed raised his hand in surprise after becoming temporary deaf in one ear from being next to Yui.

Ed glared. "Are you trying to destroy my eardrum, Yui? That yell gave me such a fright that I raised my hand by accident!"

"I'm sorry, Ed-sempai," Yui apologized.

"But I have to admit that it was an awesome strategy yelling at the top of your voice, Yui-san," said Konata. "You might be quite the competitor."

Ash nodded. "Well, Yui joins Keitaro in being exempt from playing **Catch the Thief**."

Tai glared at both Keitaro and Yui in envy. They are freed from playing **Catch the Thief** and they can give their cards to whoever they want.

"I'll give mine to Satoshi-sempai." Yui placed her card in front of Ash.

Keitaro walked up to Ash. "I'm giving you my card as well, Ash."

Ash was fuming, now that he has three cards in his hand.

"By the way, Ash, I had the **'Thief'**," Keitaro lied.

"Oh, if that's the case, I had the **'Thief'** as well," Yui boasted with her own lie.

Ash rubbed his chin. "Oh, so there are now three 'Thieves', eh?"

"I have the 'Thief'," said Konata.

"Me too," said Ed.

The only person remaining silent was Tai, the holder of the 'Thief' card as he tried to calm his nerves.

Round two began with Tai choosing from one of the three cards in Ash's hand. Then, Tai holds a card in each hand in front of Konata. "Which card do you wish to pick, Konata?"

Konata took her time to think about her decision. "I think I'll pick the middle one." Konata grabs Tai's chin.

"Very funny, Konata," said a slightly agitated Tai.

"If your friend Miyuki did that, that would have extremely awesome and Tai wouldn't be annoyed," said Ash as Konata gave him a high-five in agreement.

With the distractions over, Konata finally picked one of Tai's cards. Next, Ed picked one of Konata's cards, followed by Syaoran choosing one of Ed's cards, before Hinata took one of Syaoran's cards and finally, Ash took one of Hinata's cards, ending up with three cards back in his hand.

* * *

With round two complete, the remaining players prepare for the second mini-game.

Keitaro gave out the instructions. "The second mini-game is **Quick-Time Reaction**. The object of the game is for players to stand up as quickly as possible while calling out their numbers in order of 1 to 6. However, the last person to call out their number or if more than one person call out the same number at the same time, they're out of the mini-game."

"So, what do you think would happen if everyone stands up at the same time?" asked Tai.

"Who knows? It might get interesting," Konata replied.

Yui stood up in front of the players, readying the start of the mini-game. "The game will begin...now!"

The six players kept their eyes on each other, watching for any reaction that might indicate who would stand up first. Suddenly, Konata, Hinata and Syaoran stood up, yelling, "One!" at the same time, which unfortunately led to a triple elimination. That leaves Ed, Tai and Ash in the mini-game.

Ed grinned. "Well, that's one way to cut out the competition."

Keitaro looked at Tai. "Here's a suggestion, Tai. Try to endure as much as you can."

Tai simply nodded. Keitaro raised his hand. "Ready, set, go!"

Ash quickly stood up, yelling, "One!"

Ed quickly followed. "Two!"

Tai endured as Keitaro suggested and ended up getting eliminated. "The next time you come up with a suggestion, Megane-Sempai, I'll ask a leek for a second opinion."

It is now a battle between Ash and Ed.

"Any words before this duel?" asked Konata.

Ed looked at Ash. "Ash has more experience than me being in fanfics that seem to be in between something that makes sense and crackfics. For that, he has my respect. But I'm not going to hold back in this game because of that."

Ash smiled. "Ed, I am happy to work with you in any future fanfic we could appear in together."

"Really?" asked Ed.

Ash nodded. "Yeah, and it's not because I just said it to ease the tension between us. But either way, I won't back as this is still a game."

"Anyway, back to the game." Keitaro raised his hand. "Ready... start!"

In less than a millisecond after Keitaro yelled "start", Ash instantly stood up and yelled "One!"

Ed dropped his head onto the desk in defeat. Ash won the mini-game and is now exempt from playing **Catch the Thief**. With Ash's victory, it was time for him to hand over his three cards.

* * *

Ash was slowly deciding on the recipient of his cards. "So, who should I give my cards to?"

Syaoran slowly pointed at Tai, mouthing Tai's name at Ash. Tai glared at Syaoran. "Are you telling Ash to hand his cards over to me?"

Ash walked up to Syaoran and placed his three cards on the desk. "You can have them instead."

Syaoran sighed at his misfortune. However, before Syaoran could check his cards, Ash made an announcement. "Before the **'Thief'** is revealed, it's time for the three mini-game winners to decide on new seating positions for the remaining five players."

Tai immediately stood up. "What? Why do they get to change our seating arrangements?"

Ash glared at Tai. "Is that a complaint I'm hearing?"

Tai meekly sat down. "No."

"Are you alright with this, Syaoran?" Keitaro asked, walking to Syaoran.

"Well, I do have four cards in my hand," Syaoran said, looking at his cards.

"So you do." Keitaro stood in front of Syaoran. "What do you think of your Sempai?"

"Well, I think you're a really nice guy," answered Syaoran.

"I see." Keitaro turned around and looked at Tai. "What do you think, Tai?"

"You are a nice guy, Megane-sempai," Tai replied.

"You really think I'm a nice guy? Why don't you prove your sincerity by kissing my hand?" Keitaro acted like a mafia boss as he placed his hand in front of Tai, who immediately kissed Keitaro's hand rapidly. Keitaro then took out his other hand.

"The other hand as well," Keitaro ordered, which led to Tai rapidly kissing Keitaro's other hand.

Yui stood up. "As a winner exempted from playing this game, I too have influential power."

"The only influential power you have is deciding whether you want to put a sticker on your guitar or not," said Syaoran as he relaxed in his chair.

Yui looked at Keitaro with teary eyes. "Megane-sempai, Syaoran-sempai's being mean to me!"

Yui then looked at Hinata. "Hinata-sempai, do you think I have influential power?"

Unable to decide whether she should say the truth or lie to Yui, Hinata simply looked away as she avoids eye contact with Yui. "I cannot give you a definitive answer, Yui-san. I'm sorry."

And with that, Yui's 'influential power' entered non-existence.

After all the discussion, it was decided that only Hinata and Syaoran would have their seats swapped, with Hinata now holding Syaoran's four cards while Syaoran having Hinata's only card.

Keitaro looked at the remaining players. "It is now time to reveal who is the **'Thief'**. Hinata, since you have four cards and there is a huge chance that you might have the 'Thief'. Would you like to reveal your cards?"

Hinata nodded as she revealed the first card. It was blank. Hinata reveals the second card and it was also blank. Hinata reveals the third card and that too was blank. Hinata picks up the fourth card and the card was blank.

"It looks like Hinata does not have the** 'Thief'**," said Ash. "Syaoran, would you like to reveal your card?"

Before Syaoran could reveal his card, Tai quickly stood up, revealing his **'Thief'** card as he slams it on the table. "It was me. I couldn't stand all the suspense anymore! I had this card since the beginning of the game!"

"So, you're saying that the 'Thief' never left your hand," said Ash.

Tai simply nodded. "Both Keitaro and Konata managed to avoid taking the thief card off me."

"Then, it's settled. Tai lost the game," said Ash.

* * *

**[It's time for the team game. Who will win in this 5 vs. 3 Battle?]**

**[Team Tai vs. Team Ash]**

**[Team Tai: Mission Team]  
**Tai: The Egotistical Hero  
Keitaro: The Todai Graduate  
Konata: The Gaming Ace  
Syaoran: The Playboy  
Yui: The Ditz

**[Team Ash: Hunter Team]  
**Ash: The Other Hero  
Ed: The Scheming Midget  
Hinata: The Ojou (Princess)

* * *

Ash, Ed and Hinata were outside the Convention Center discussing their strategy.

"The strategy is quite simple: one person goes in to investigate while the other two will cover the exits and surprise our opponents," Ash explained.

"Who's going to investigate them, Satoshi-kun?" Hinata asked.

"We should let Ash do it," said Ed. "If they see Ash, they will try to escape by all means."

"Good point," saisd Hinata. "I remembered that Satoshi-kun was responsible for the capture of three members of the other team in the previous chapter."

At that moment, the team received their mission from a text message from a cellphone. "_**Team Ash: Your mission is to remove the other team's armbands.**_"

* * *

Meanwhile, inside the Convention Center, Team Tai were in one of the exhibition halls sitting at a bench having their own strategy meeting. Each member of Team Tai was wearing a red armband with their name on it.

"Today we have Syaoran on our team," said Tai.

"Yep, safety in numbers," said Keitaro. "That's a good sign for us."

Tai was holding a cell phone in front of a poster. "I just need to scan the QR code to receive our instructions."

"Let me give it a try," said Yui as she took the phone. Unfortunately, she pressed the cancel button while she took the phone, returning the phone screen back to the main menu.

"You really are the ditz of the team, Yui," moaned Tai as he retrieved the phone and tried scanning the poster again. This time it was successful as the phone receives the mission instructions.

**Team Tai: Your mission is to disarm a timed bomb in the convention center. Find the hidden clues to cut the four colored wires in sequence to disarm the bomb. The bomb is located in the Entrance Plaza near the designated 'Detention Area'. The locations of the clues are:**

**[1: West Exhibition Hall - First floor]  
[2: West Exhibition Hall - Second Floor]  
[3: East Exhibition Hall - Galleria]  
[4: Conference Tower - Sixth floor] **

"Knowing Ash, his strategy would be having all of us guarding the exits before charging in," said Syaoran.

"A sound strategy," said Konata. "Let someone unknowingly get attack from multiple directions only for them to get caught."

"Still, I have no idea how to counter that though," said Tai.

"Yeah, even if we know the strategy, I doubt it would do us much good," Keitaro said.

* * *

The timer on the bomb at the Entrance Plaza started up, giving Team Tai only one hour to complete their mission.

**[60:00]**

As Team Ash was making their way towards the Entrance Plaza, Team Tai began their search in the East Exhibition Hall's Galleria.

"If we managed to find at least three clues, it would be enough to disarm the bomb," said Tai.

"Let's start our search here in the East Exhibition Hall," said Konata. "If we can find the clue here, it would save us from searching here later on."

The team quickly searched the Galleria for the clue, but with no luck. Unfortunately, the Galleria barely has any hiding place. "Forget about the clue here. If we stay here, we're as good as dead," said Syaoran.

"Let's split up," Konata suggested.

Tai and Keitaro quickly ran towards the Conference Tower, while Konata, Syaoran and Yui ran towards the West Exhibition Hall.

Three characters entered the Entrance Plaza with the sound of bells echoing the hall. With bells attached to their shoes as a warning to the other team of their presence, Ash, Ed and Hinata have entered the building.

"Alright, guys. Let's begin the hunt," said Ash.

On the sixth floor of the Conference Tower, Tai and Keitaro searched the different conference rooms for the clue. As Keitaro searched under a chair, he finds an envelope stuck underneath.

Keitaro opened the envelope and read the clue. "**Green 2**. I'm guessing that it means the second wire to be cut is Green."

Tai walked up to Keitaro. "Nice."

Meanwhile, Ash happened to be travelling towards the sixth floor of the Conference Tower as the sound of his bells managed to get Tai and Keitaro's attention.

"Someone's coming this way," Tai whispered. "We got to get out of here."

Ash noticed some movement on the sixth floor. Ash took out his walkie-talkie. "Guys, I need some assistance on the Sixth Floor! I think I saw someone up there."

"I got it." As Hinata made her way towards the Sixth Floor, she somehow managed to miss both Tai and Keitaro as they swiftly made their escape and split up.

Keitaro ran to the second floor of the West Exhibition Hall and he managed to catch up with Syaoran. He quickly showed the clue to Syaoran. "Alright, I'll search the second floor before they arrive while you take the first floor," said Syaoran.

Both Keitaro and Syaoran split up.

**[Clues:]  
[1: West Exhibition Hall - First floor]  
[2: West Exhibition Hall - Second Floor]  
[3: East Exhibition Hall - Galleria]  
**[4: Conference Tower - Sixth floor (Cleared)]

Meanwhile, Tai was already at the second floor of the West Exhibition Hall as he searched through Hall Three. "There has to be a clue somewhere here."

"Did you find any, Sempai?" Konata asked through the walkie-talkie.

"We only found one," Tai replied. "Wait, I think I found another one."

Tai found the corner of an envelope hiding under a table cloth. Tai pulled out the envelope and read the clue inside. "**Red 3**."

* * *

Meanwhile, in the Entrance Plaza, Ash spotted Konata on the second floor.

"I see Konata! After her!"

Ash led the chase after Konata as both Hinata and Ed joined in.

"Waaaaa! It's Ash Ketchum!" screamed Konata.

Ash was in hot pursuit in the chase after Konata when Ed suddenly caught her.

"Alright, I got her!" said Ed.

Ash suddenly heard Hinata's voice on the walkie-talkie. "Satoshi-kun! I see Syaoran-kun!"

"Got it." Ash looked at Ed. "I'll leave her to you."

As Ash left Ed with Konata, Konata looked at Ed with teary eyes. "Come on, Ed. Can't you let me go just this once? I mean we're kindred spirits, sharing the same type of hairstyle and dislike for our height impairment."

"Well, that's a bit awkward. What am I going to say to Ash if he finds out?"

"Tell him that I slipped away while you tried to remove my armband," Konata suggested.

"Are you sure?"

Konata nodded.

"Alright, I'll let you go only once. But don't expect me to show you the same mercy next time."

Konata hugged Ed. "Thank you, Ed. You won't regret it."

"Now go before he comes back!"

Konata nodded as she ran off while Ed pretended to chase after her.

Meanwhile, Ash and Hinata were in pursuit of Syaoran as the chase went into the Hall Four in the West Exhibition Hall. As Syaoran ran into Hall Four, Hinata quickly double backed as Ash kept up the pursuit. Syaoran ran through Hall Three towards Hall Four, only to run into Hinata as she quickly caught him.

"Got you, Syaoran-kun," said Hinata as she ripped off Syaoran's armband, eliminating him.

**[Syaoran - Eliminated]  
[Remaining - Tai, Keitaro, Konata, Yui]**

**[Clues:]  
[1: West Exhibition Hall - First floor]**  
[2: West Exhibition Hall - Second Floor (Cleared)]  
**[3: East Exhibition Hall - Galleria]  
**[4: Conference Tower - Sixth floor (Cleared)]

With only **30 minutes** remaining on the timer, Yui began her search on the first floor of the West Exhibition Hall starting in Hall One. Suddenly, the sound of bells disrupted her search, forcing Yui to find a place to hide.

The source of the sound, Ed, walked into Hall One searching for new targets as Yui hid behind a sign. As Ed walked by, he noticed a pair of feet standing behind the sign. Pretending not to notice, Ed continued walking into Hall Two.

Thinking the coast is clear; Yui decided that now is the time to escape. However, she did not see Ed waiting in ambush near the door separating Halls One and Two.

"AHA!" Ed began to run towards Yui, forcing Yui to run for her life towards the main atrium.

As the chase led into the main atrium, Konata was near the escalator when she saw Yui running towards. "No, don't come this way Yui." Konata looked up the escalator and saw the one person she hoped not to see. "Ahhhhhh! It's Ash Ketchum!"

Ash ran down the escalator, forcing Konata to run away. However, Yui only saw Ash at the very last minute, with his very appearance surprised Yui, causing her to slip and fall onto her butt. The surprise appearance has managed to reduce Yui's lifespan from the shock.

"Wahhh! It's Ash Ketchum!" screamed Yui as Ash immediately ran to her and ripped off her armband, eliminating Yui from the game.

Ash glared at his teammate."What the hell, Ed? Why did you let Konata escape?"

"She's too sneaky!" Ed replied.

**[Yui - Eliminated]  
[Remaining - Tai, Keitaro, Konata]**

**[25 minutes remaining...]**

Meanwhile, in the East Exhibition Hall, Tai was searching the Galleria until he heard the sound of bells. "Uh oh." Tai tried to sneak away.

Meanwhile, Ash entered the East Exhibition Hall when he noticed some movement. "Wait. I think I saw somebody." Ash began to run towards Tai's direction.

Hearing the increased pace from the sound of the bells, Tai picked up speed, running so fast that Tai's handler, Junpei, couldn't catch up with Tai.

"Just run, Taichi-Sempai!"

Ash soon spotted Tai, only to see Tai already at the farthest end of the Galleria sneaking into one of the halls.

However, Ed spotted Tai. "I see him! Let's go!"

Using teamwork, Team Ash prepared to close in on their prey. Ash and Ed entered the hall through different entrances while Hinata remained outside.

In the hall, Ash walked towards a stage to investigate. He looked backstage and saw something funny. "Hey, Ed, you'd better check this out!"

"What's so funny over there for me to see?"

Tai was lying on the backstage floor in a poor attempt to hide from his pursuers. As Ash tried to grab Tai's armband, Tai quickly jumped up and slip away from Ash's grasp by going through the backstage area. "Ed, stop him!"

At the other side of the backstage, Ed tried to block Tai's path, but Tai swiftly evades his pursuer using his soccer skills. However, though Tai managed to evade Ed, his exit was blocked by Ash, forcing Tai to take a detour through the backstage again.

Ash could only watch in disbelief. "Ed, he's gone backstage again! Block the other exit!"

Ed quickly block Tai's exit as Tai saw that he has no escape. He calmly sat on a prop to rest as Ed walked towards him to remove his armband. However, just as Ed got closer enough to grab Tai's armband, Tai swiftly got up and slip through Ed's grasp.

Ash became agitated. "What the hell, Ed? You're letting everyone escape!"

But Tai's escape was shorted lived as Tai ran out through the exit not blocked by Ash, only to be spotted by Hinata. Hinata quickly intercepted Tai as she accelerated after her prey. This time, Tai was completely exhausted from his earlier lucky escapes, enabling Hinata to easily catch him and rip off his armband.

**[Tai - Eliminated]  
[Remaining - Konata, Keitaro]**

* * *

**[20 Minutes remaining]**

**[Clues:]  
[1: West Exhibition Hall - First floor]  
**[2: West Exhibition Hall - Second Floor (Cleared)]  
**[3: East Exhibition Hall - Galleria]  
**[4: Conference Tower - Sixth floor (Cleared)]

Ash and Ed entered the first floor of the West Exhibition Hall.

"Why are we back here?" Ed asked.

"I noticed that the other's team has been running through the halls on this level," Ash explained. "So we need someone here to stand guard in case they are here."

As it turns out, Konata and Keitaro were hiding behind the various stalls in the Exhibition Hall.

"I need you to stand guard in the middle of the hall. It has a clear view of the exits, so you can chase after whoever enters."

"Got it. But can I make a request?"

"Shoot."

"Can I be the vice-captain of the team?"

"I'll think about it, considering that you let Konata go."

"She was a sneaky fox! She slipped out of my grasp and ran off too quickly before I could catch her again."

"Well, do this well and I'll think about it," Ash said as he left to search elsewhere.

Ed sighed. "I don't think he will." Ed walked around the exhibition hall. "This won't do."

Ed slowly walked towards one of the exits and looked outside. Meanwhile, Keitaro peeked from his hiding place and saw Ed looking away. Taking advantage of the opportunity, Keitaro sneaked towards another stall to hide within, with Ed completely unaware of the movement behind him.

Ed was being impatient as he continued to patrol the exhibition hall. "Why do I have to take orders from Ash and do this? I mean, Hinata has caught more guys than he did, so why does he have to be in charge?"

Suddenly, Ed's walkie talkie received a call.

"_Where are you, Ed?" Ash asked._

Ed meekly replied. "Still guarding the hall, Ash."

Meanwhile, Ed was still unaware of Keitaro secretly moving around the hall as he searched for clues to disarming the bomb. Keitaro peeked around a corner to see Ed walking out of the exhibition hall, giving him a better chance to search.

Outside the exhibition hall, Ed was giving directions to his cameraman.

"I want you to aim at me at a 45 degree angle from below while you try to film as much of the background as you can. And Action..."

Ed calmly looked at his surroundings, pretending to be the poster-boy for all security personnel. "I will guard this place with my life. Not a single soul will get past me."

The diversion was enough for Keitaro to thoroughly search a stall and Keitaro noticed a small enveloped pinned to a stall's tablecloth. Keitaro took the envelope and read the contents. (**Blue 1**) With this crucial clue, Keitaro immediately ran towards the Entrance Hall, where the bomb is located.

Ed returned to the exhibition hall and spotted his glasses-wearing prey running past the stalls. "Aha! I see Keitaro!"

Ed proceeded to chase after Keitaro as Keitaro tried to throw Ed off by making a few turns around the various stalls before escaping through the exit. With the knowledge of which three wires to cut first, Keitaro knew that he has to make it to the bomb if there was any chance of disarming it but he first has to lose his pursuers. Unfortunately, Ed managed to coordinate with his teammates, enabling him, Ash and Hinata to trap the glasses-wearing Sempai along a narrow walkway.

**[Keitaro - Eliminated]  
[Remaining - Konata]**

* * *

**[10 Minutes remaining]**

At the same time, Konata decided to run towards the direction of the bomb, knowing that only 10 minutes remained on the clock.

Meanwhile, at the Entrance Hall, Tai, Yui and Syaoran were at the Detention Area next to the bomb.

"Has anyone seen Konata-sempai?" Yui asked.

"We need to tell Konata which wires to cut when she gets here."

At that moment, Konata entered the Entrance Hall. However, her arrival did not go unnoticed by Hinata, who relayed Konata's location through her walkie talkie.

"I see Konata-san!" Hinata yelled.

"Quickly, Konata, cut the wire!" yelled Tai.

"Cut the green wire second, red wire third!" Syaoran relayed the info. Unfortunately, Keitaro did not inform the others about the very crucial clue about cutting the blue wire first before he got caught.

Konata ran to the bomb and looked at the wires. Even if she knew the second and third wires to cut, she needs know which wire to cut first and despite having plenty of time, a member of the opposing team is after her.

"Which one do I cut first? Yellow or blue?" asked Konata in panic.

At that moment, Keitaro ran into the Entrance Hall. "Cut the blue wire first! Blue wire first!" yelled Keitaro.

Konata looked up and saw Keitaro and Hinata, but knowing that if she gets caught, it's over, so Konata made her choice and cut a wire...

Suddenly, large plumes of smoke were released from the smoke machines in the Detention Area, which indicates that the bomb had been detonated.

"Well, that's not good," said Syaoran.

In her panic, Konata had cut the yellow wire first before cutting the other wires.

**[Misson Failed]**

"What just happened?" asked Konata.

"We won? We won!" Hinata screamed. "Satoshi-kun, we won!"

Ash was walking towards the Detention Area in celebration while Ed had two walkie-talkies in his hands. As it turned out, Ed had Konata's walkie-talkie after she accidentally dropped it when she was in Ed's custody, which was why Keitaro was unable to inform Konata about cutting the blue wire.

Keitaro ran up to Konata. "Why did you cut the yellow wire? I said blue wire!"

"How the hell could I have known? It was a 50-50 chance and if I let Hinata-sempai catch me, the team would have lost anyway! You came too late, Megane-sempai!" Konata said, throwing the blame at Keitaro.

Tai sighed. "If this was a real bomb, Konata, we won't have Comiket in Ariake in a very long time..."

Either way, Team Ash wins the game at the Big Sight, earning them a lottery ball each.

**[Winner: Team Ash]**

* * *

At the Entrance Hall, everyone was standing at the lottery machine.

**[Lottery Ball Count: Ash, Hinata, Ed - 3 Balls; Konata, Keitaro, Yui - 2 balls; Tai, Syaoran - 1 ball] **

"It's now time for the Lottery!" Tai announced. "What's the penalty?"

"The penalty will be different," Koizumi explained. "You won't be serving it tonight. You will be serving the penalty right before going to our next location in the next chapter."

"But now it's time to find out the moment of truth," said Ash. "Let's put in the lottery balls."

Everyone placed their lottery balls into the machine. Tai kissed his only lottery ball. "Please give me a miracle," said Tai as he kissed the ball before putting it in the machine.

**[The four names selected by the lottery will be guaranteed escape from the penalty.]**

The lottery machine began to scatter the lottery balls within as Tai pressed a button that randomly selects a lottery ball. The first name that was chosen: **Hinata Hyuga**.

Hinata breathe a sigh of relief. "I'm safe"

The next name to be selected by the lottery machine: **Konata Izumi**.

Konata jumped for joy. "Yes!"

The next name to pop out: **Ed Elric**.

Ed grinned. "Oh yeah!"

Yui, Keitaro, Ash and Tai now began to pray that the next name to be chosen is one of theirs.

"Come on, lady luck! Don't fail me now," said Tai.

"Let's find out the final name on the count of three," Keitaro suggested.

"**One, two, three!"**

The final name was revealed by the lottery machine: **Ash Ketchum**.

With all four names chosen to be exempt from the penalty, the remaining four could only stare in disbelief with the knowledge of a humiliating penalty coming up.

Tai had completely given into despair and looked at Producer Koizumi. "So, what's the punishment?"

Koizumi gave Tai a selection of outfits to wear for the penalty. "As our next location will be at Crypton Future Media's Tokyo offices, your penalty is to walk to Crypton wearing Vocaloid cosplays."

"So, who wants to wear which cosplay?"

"I want Kaito because I like to wear his scarf!" said Yui.

"As Sempai, I claim the mature one. Luka's mine," said Keitaro.

"I prefer to wear hot pants over skirts, so I take Rin," said Syaoran.

Tai looked at the remaining Vocaloid cosplay for him to wear. "That leaves Miku with me."

* * *

**[Preview of Next Chapter:]**

The next night, an SUV arrived a block away from Crypton Future Media's Tokyo offices and four unfortunate individuals disembarked the vehicle.

Yui was cosplaying as Kaito in a blue wig; Keitaro was cosplaying as Luka Megurine in a pink wig; Syaoran was cosplaying as Rin Kagamine in a blonde wig and finally, Tai was cosplaying as Miku Hatsune wearing a turquoise wig.

The arrival of the four cosplaying Anime Characters attracted the attention of the various passer-bys on the street, with three of those characters only feeling embarrassment from the attraction as they walked towards the Crypton Future Media Tokyo Offices...

**[To be continued next chapter]**

* * *

**[**Coming up next on **Project V: Search for the Next Vocaloid**, how will 11 contestants now face a challenge that puts their vocal skills to the limit when they have to replicate two high tempo Hatsune Miku songs?**]**


End file.
